New Zealand’s government has introduced legislation to ban children under 16 from using social media, joining a growing international push to protect young people from online risks.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced the proposed law on Monday, August 24, 2026, saying the government could not ignore the harm social media was causing among children.
Luxon said one in three New Zealanders aged between 13 and 17 now spends at least five hours a day on social media.
He said excessive use exposes young people to harmful content, addictive technology and pressures they are not equipped to handle, affecting family life, mental health, sleep and education.
Under the proposed legislation, platforms including Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and Facebook would be required to take “reasonable steps to check users are over the age of 16”.
Companies could use existing account information, facial age estimation, digital identification services and formal identification documents to verify users’ ages.
Platforms would also have to assess the risks their services pose to young people and report on measures taken to reduce those risks. Companies that fail to comply could face fines of up to 10 per cent of their global revenue.
Education Minister Erica Stanford said the Bill would place legal obligations on social media platforms, rather than children or their parents.
“No penalties are proposed for children, their parents or caregivers,” Stanford said.
However, the legislation faces uncertainty in Parliament. National Party coalition partners ACT and NZ First have expressed opposition to the proposal.
NZ First described Australia’s experience with a similar law as a “colossal failure”, while ACT said the proposed ban “won’t work” because teenagers could find ways around it.
The main opposition Labour Party has also raised questions about the legislation, including how age verification would operate 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.
Australia introduced a similar ban on under-16s using major social media platforms last year, targeting services including Facebook, Instagram and TikTok as part of efforts to protect children from online bullying and potentially harmful algorithms.
However, an Australia-based research team reported in a peer-reviewed study published in June that there was little evidence teenagers had significantly reduced their social media use as a result of the ban.
The New Zealand proposal therefore faces a key question: whether restricting access will effectively protect young people or simply encourage them to find ways around the rules.
