WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has proposed legislation that would ban children younger than 16 from accessing social media platforms, citing concerns about the negative impacts on young people's well-being.
The bill, however, is currently lacking sufficient support for passage, with two of the three parties within Luxon's coalition government indicating they will vote against it. The outcome would depend on the votes of opposition lawmakers, who have not yet declared their stance.
Luxon stated that there was insufficient time for the proposal to pass through the required three rounds of parliamentary voting before Parliament dissolves on October 1, ahead of the November general election. If reelected, Luxon aims to implement the ban, joining a growing number of countries enacting age restrictions on social media.
According to 2025 research cited by Luxon, one-third of New Zealand teenagers spend at least five hours daily on social media. "Social media is exposing them to harmful content, addictive technology and pressures they are not equipped to deal with and it’s affecting their family life, mental health, sleep, and education," Luxon said.
The proposed law would obligate social media companies, including Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and Facebook, to "take reasonable steps" to verify users are over 16. Methods suggested include reviewing existing account information, employing facial age estimation, utilizing digital ID services, and accepting formal identification.
Platforms excluded from the ban are messaging applications like WhatsApp, online gaming platforms such as Roblox, and productivity-focused AI applications including ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot. While parents and children would not face penalties, technology companies could be fined up to 10% of their global revenue for non-compliance.
Luxon's government has been considering such a law since Australia enacted its social media ban for under-16s in December 2025. However, the proposal has met strong opposition from the libertarian ACT party and the populist NZ First party, both coalition partners. The largest opposition party, the center-left Labour party, has yet to decide on its voting position, according to leader Chris Hipkins.
Several countries, including Canada, Brazil, and Indonesia, have implemented similar bans since Australia's law took effect, with many others exploring or developing such legislation. Child safety advocates and some parents have supported these age restrictions, while privacy advocates have raised concerns about the enforceability of such rules and the privacy implications of requiring identification.
In January, following Australia's ban, social media platforms reported revoking access for approximately 4.7 million accounts identified as belonging to children. New Zealand's government previously implemented a ban in 2024 prohibiting cellphone use by students of all ages during the school day.