Christopher Luxon Proposes Law to Ban Social Media Use for Children Under 16

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has introduced a bill to ban children under the age of 16 from using social media platforms. The proposal aims to protect young people from harmful content, addictive technology, and pressures that affect their mental health, sleep, and education. Under the new law, platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and Facebook would be required to take reasonable steps to verify user ages using methods like facial age estimation and digital IDs. While the administration seeks to protect children, the bill faces significant internal opposition. Two of the three parties in Luxon's coalition government, ACT and NZ First, have stated they will vote against the measure. They cited the

Sources

• AP News
  New Zealand’s prime minister proposes banning children from using social media
• PBS
  New Zealand's prime minister proposes banning children from using social media
• BBC
  New Zealand moves to ban children under 16 from social media
• Bloomberg
  New Zealand Plans Social Media Ban for Under-16s
• Reuters
  New Zealand's main opposition party supports social media ban for under-16s