AFP news agency reported that the New Zealand government on August 24 (local time) submitted to Parliament a bill banning children under 16 years old from using social media platforms.
According to the bill, platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and Facebook must apply reasonable measures to verify users aged 16 and over, possibly through account information, age estimation technology through faces, digital identification or official identification papers.
Technology companies may be fined up to 10% of global revenue if they do not implement age control measures.
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said that 1/3 of children aged 13-17 in this country currently spend at least 5 hours a day on social media. Exposure to harmful content as well as addictive technologies can affect family life, mental health, sleep and study.
Platforms must also assess risks to children and report on measures to minimize those risks. Education Minister Erica Stanford said that the bill will impose legal obligations on platforms, while not imposing penalties on children, parents or caregivers.
New Zealand is the latest country to promote measures to restrict children from accessing platforms such as Instagram and TikTok. Previously, Australia was the first country in the world to apply regulations banning children under 16 years old from using social networks from December 2025. Following suit, the UK, France and some other countries have also implemented similar measures.
