New Zealand: The New Zealand government has introduced the Online Safety (Minimum Age and Child Safety Risk Assessment) Bill in New Zealand Parliament on Monday to restrict individuals under the age of 16 from using major social media platforms. Announcing the measure alongside Education Minister Erica Stanford, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon stated that the initiative is aimed at mitigating the adverse impacts of addictive technology and harmful digital content on young people’s mental health, sleep, and educational development.
Under the proposed statutory framework, high-risk platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook, and YouTube will be legally obligated to implement reasonable age-verification protocols, including digital identity services, facial age estimation, and official government credentials. Oversight and enforcement will be managed by a newly established regulatory body within the Department of Internal Affairs, with non-compliant technology firms facing potential financial penalties of up to 10 percent of their global revenue. The draft legislation places no direct penalties on children, parents, or guardians, while excluding productivity-focused AI chatbots, gaming platforms like Roblox, and direct messaging services such as WhatsApp and Discord.
The bill faces political hurdles within the governing coalition, as both ACT and New Zealand First have expressed opposition over concerns regarding privacy, enforceability, and parental autonomy. Consequently, the National Party administration will rely on the opposition Labour Party to secure passage through the legislature. Labour officials have indicated they are evaluating the bill’s technical parameters, privacy protections, and consultation mechanisms before formalizing their stance during the upcoming first reading.
