The New Zealand government is moving ahead with plans to ban children under 16 from using social media and a related bill is scheduled to be introduced to parliament.
The Online Safety Bill would require high-risk social media platforms, including Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and Facebook, to take reasonable steps to verify that users are over 16, using methods such as pre-existing account information, facial-based age estimation, digital identity services, and official identification, according to a government statement.
The bill would also require platforms used by children to periodically assess the risks they pose and report on how those risks are identified and mitigated, the statement said.
Companies that fail to meet their obligations could face penalties of up to 10 percent of the platform's global revenue. The bill would also incorporate emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI)-based companion platforms, into the regulatory framework.
An online safety regulator will be established under New Zealand's Department of Home Affairs to independently monitor compliance, investigate platforms and enforce the law, the statement said.
"Social media exposes them to harmful content, addictive technology, and pressures they are not prepared for, and this is impacting their family life, mental health, sleep, and education," said New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in making the announcement.
New Zealand Education Minister Erica Stanford said the bill would align New Zealand with other countries, as well as give tech companies greater responsibility to protect children online.
"The bill imposes legal obligations on platforms. There are no proposed sanctions for children, their parents, or their caregivers," Stanford said.
Winston Peters, leader of New Zealand First, a partner in the governing coalition, said his party shared concerns about children's safety online, but would not support a ban, warning that enforcement could compromise parental rights, individual liberties and privacy.
Cassandra Mudgway, a senior lecturer in law at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, welcomed the proposals for an online safety regulator and increased platform accountability, but questioned whether a social media ban for children under 16 would achieve the government's goals.
Mudgway warned that age verification could pose significant privacy risks, noting that a ban would not necessarily make the online environment safer.
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