New Zealand’s government on Monday, August 24, 2026, introduced legislation that would ban children under 16 from using social media, joining a growing number of countries seeking to restrict young people’s access to platforms such as Instagram and TikTok.
Under the proposed law, social media companies including Meta could face fines of up to 10 per cent of their global revenue if they fail to prevent under-16s from accessing their platforms.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the government could no longer ignore the impact of social media on children.
“We simply cannot accept the harm being done to a generation of New Zealand children,” Luxon said.
He said one in three children aged between 13 and 17 now spend at least five hours a day on social media.
According to the Prime Minister, excessive social media use exposes children to harmful content, addictive technologies and pressures that can affect their family relationships, mental health, sleep and education.
Luxon specifically named Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and Facebook, saying the platforms would be required to take “reasonable steps to check users are over the age of 16.”
The proposed legislation would allow platforms to use existing account information, facial age estimation, digital identification services and formal identification documents to verify users’ ages.
Companies would also be required to assess the risks their platforms pose to children and report on measures taken to reduce those risks.
Education Minister Erica Stanford said the Bill would create legal obligations for social media companies.
“No penalties are proposed for children, their parents or caregivers,” Stanford said.
Coalition Partners Oppose Bill
The proposed legislation faces uncertainty in Parliament, with two of the governing National Party’s coalition partners, the libertarian ACT Party and populist NZ First, opposing the measure.
NZ First said it could not support the Bill because of what it described as the “colossal failure” of similar legislation in Australia.
ACT also rejected the proposal, arguing that the ban “won’t work” because teenagers would find ways to bypass it.
The main opposition Labour Party has submitted dozens of questions it wants answered before deciding whether to support the legislation, including how age verification would work and which platforms would be covered.
“We take this legislation very seriously,” Labour spokesman Reuben Davidson said.
“The safety of young people in Aotearoa New Zealand is at stake, and the risks they face in increasingly complex online environments are significant,” he added, using New Zealand’s Māori name.
Australia First To Introduce Ban
Australia became the first country to introduce a social media ban for under-16s in December 2025, covering platforms including Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
The Australian restrictions were introduced as part of efforts to protect children from online bullying and potentially harmful algorithms.
However, researchers based in Australia found little evidence in a peer-reviewed study published in June 2026 that teenagers had significantly reduced their social media use as a result of the restrictions.
New Zealand’s proposed law will now face parliamentary scrutiny before it can become law.
AFP
