New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon unveiled a proposed law on Monday that would ban children under 16 from using social media platforms, citing concerns over the impact of social media on young people.
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Luxon said that his party would introduce the bill in Parliament, with social media platforms facing fines of up to 10 per cent of their global revenue if they fail to comply.
“We simply cannot accept the harm being done to a generation of New Zealand children”, he said in a statement.
The proposal would cover platforms including Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and Facebook.
However, as per AFP, messaging platforms such as WhatsApp, online gaming platforms like Roblox and AI applications with productivity uses, including ChatGPT, Gemini and Copilot, would be excluded.
According to Luxon, social media was exposing children to harmful content, addictive technology and pressures they were not equipped to deal with, affecting their family life, mental health, sleep and education.
However, AFP reported that the proposal does not currently have enough support to pass through Parliament. Two of the three parties in Luxon’s coalition government, libertarian ACT and New Zealand First, have said they will vote against it.
Hence, Luxton may require some support from lawmakers in the opposition.
New Zealand First leader and foreign minister, Winston Peters, said his party was concerned about the proposed legislation and the direction it could take the country. He described Australia’s social media ban as a “colossal failure” and said keeping children off social media should be the responsibility of parents.
