New Zealand to introduce bill banning social media for children
New Zealand’s conservative coalition government will introduce a bill Monday to ban children under 16 from using social media, with fines of up to 10% of a platform’s global revenue for non-compliance.
The bill would require platforms to take reasonable steps to verify users’ ages, including through existing account information, facial technology and digital identity documents.
“We simply cannot accept the harm being done to a generation of New Zealand children,” Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said.
“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,” he said.
