New Zealand’s government introduced legislation on Monday to ban under 16s from using social media, joining a number of countries seeking to keep youngsters off sites such as Instagram and TikTok.
Prime Minister Highlights Social Media Concerns for New Zealand Youth
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon expressed deep concern over the impact of social media on New Zealand children, stating, “We simply cannot accept the harm being done to a generation of New Zealand children.” He cited alarming statistics indicating that one in three children aged 13 to 17 are now spending at least five hours a day on social media.
In response to these issues, Education Minister Erica Stanford announced new legislation that will impose legal obligations on social media platforms. Importantly, she clarified that the bill does not propose any penalties for children, their parents, or caregivers.
It’s unclear whether the bill will pass, as both National Party’s coalition partners — the libertarian ACT party and populist NZ First — have said they oppose it. In a statement, the populist NZ First said they could not support the law given the “colossal failure” of the legislation in Australia, while ACT said they believed the law “won’t work” and that teenagers would easily get around the ban. “We take this legislation very seriously,” spokesman Reuben Davidson said.
