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United News of India
06-05-2025
- Politics
- United News of India
New Zealand lawmaker proposes social media ban for under-16s
Wellington, May 6 (UNI) A New Zealand lawmaker is pushing for legislation that would ban children under 16 from accessing social media in a move that could see the country follow Australia's lead in tightening regulations on digital platforms. New Zealand National Party MP Catherine Wedd has introduced a member's bill that would require social media companies to verify users' ages and block minors from creating accounts. Platforms could face financial penalties for non-compliance and would be obligated to take "all reasonable steps" to ensure users are at least 16 years old, Radio New Zealand (RNZ) reported on Tuesday. "My Social Media Age-Appropriate Users Bill is about protecting young people from bullying, inappropriate content and social media addiction by restricting access for under 16-year-olds," RNZ quoted Wedd as saying. The bill is backed by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, who said he is open to adopting it as a government bill, a move that would fast-track its progress through parliament. "It's not a political issue. It's actually a New Zealand issue," Luxon said, adding he is seeking bipartisan support. The proposed law is modelled on legislation currently being implemented in Australia. If passed, it would allow the responsible minister to classify specific platforms as age-restricted and require a formal review three years after coming into force to evaluate its impact. The Australian bill of a social media ban for children under 16, the first in the world, passed the Senate in November 2024. UNI XINHUA ARN
Kiwiblog
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Kiwiblog
National proposes social media ban for under 16s
The Herald reports: National MP Catherine Wedd is introducing a new member's bill aiming to ban children under 16 from accessing social media platforms in New Zealand. Wedd, MP for Tukituki in Hawke's Bay, said the My Social Media Age-Appropriate Users Bill is about protecting the 'most vulnerable young teenagers and children from the online harms of social media'. Wedd said social media was an 'extraordinary resource' but it came with risks. 'Right now, we aren't managing the risks for our young people well.' Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the move was intended to protect young people from bullying, inappropriate content and social media addiction. This addresses a genuine and serious problem. Social media use by young people has had some terrible outcomes in terms of bullying and also peer pressure around body size and shape. This chart, via Maddy, shows a massive correlation (and no doubt causation). So yes absolutely, having kids not able to use social media until they are 16 would be a good thing. The challenge though is unintended consequences and definition. A ban may make it more attractive to young NZers. They may be able to get around it easily. Parental supervision and involvement is preferable to legislation – however they are not an either/or choice. And how do you define it. Would text messaging be captured? Group chats? Youtube? Do you name specific platforms? So definitely worth supporting at first reading, but select committee would have a lot of work to do to see if it can be made workable, and that the benefits will be greater than the costs and unintended consequences.
Otago Daily Times
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
National keen to ban social media for U-16s
By Lillian Hanly of RNZ The National Party wants to ban 16-year-olds from accessing social media by forcing companies to use age verification measures, but for now that's not government policy. National MP Catherine Wedd, with the backing of leader Christopher Luxon, has put forward a members' bill which would follow Australia's lead on cracking down on the social media giants. The Prime Minister said he wanted to explore picking it up as a "broader government bill," which would mean it could become law more quickly. Right now the legislation does not have government-endorsed, meaning it would be debated only if it was drawn from the ballot at random. Wedd said the Bill would put the onus on social media companies to verify someone is over the age of 16 before they access social media platforms, and is modelled off Australian legislation. "Currently, there are no legally enforceable age verification measures for social media platforms in New Zealand." Wedd said she'd heard from parents, teachers and principals that there wasn't enough protections in place. "My Social Media Age-Appropriate Users Bill is about protecting young people from bullying, inappropriate content and social media addiction by restricting access for under 16-year-olds." The bill would require social media platforms to take "all reasonable steps" to prevent under-16s from creating accounts. It would also introduce "penalties for non-compliance", including financial ones. Social media platforms would be able to rely on "reasonable verification measures to demonstrate compliance." The responsible minister would have the authority to designate specific platforms as age-restricted. The law would be reviewed three years after it came into force to assess its effectiveness and make any necessary changes. Luxon, who felt "very strongly" about the issue, said he'd been talking about it for the "last 18 months" and the caucus had worked on the issue over the "last year or so," before signing it off as a National Party Bill last month. But he wanted to see whether other political leaders from across parliament would come on board and support the bill. "I think there could be quite a lot of good bipartisan support for something like this. "It's not a political issue. It's actually a New Zealand issue." Luxon said he had spoken to ACT and New Zealand First about it, but wouldn't comment on their positions. "I'm just saying to you that I also want to make the pitch as a bipartisan piece of work." Labour leader Chris Hipkins said he's open to the idea - but think's it's something the government should "show some leadership on." "I'm concerned that they're just leaving that to a members bill." Hipkins pointed to Australia where there was "government led action" on the issue. "If the National Party believes in this, make it a government bill. "This is a conversation we need to have as a country. The Australians have been courageous and tackled it. I think New Zealand needs to do the same." He referenced New Zealand First's use of members bills to raise various issues. "It'll probably be like a New Zealand First bill. How long will it stay in the ballot before they come up with another little itch they want to scratch?" Last week the Minister of Internal Affairs, ACT's Brooke van Velden, told RNZ that Australia was "free to make their own rules around social media use." She said a "minimum age for social media is not something the New Zealand Government is considering." Van Velden said Australia's "minimum age" restriction would not come into force until later this year and was interested to see how the policy was implemented.
Straits Times
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
New Zealand's National Party seeks social media age restrictions
The Bill is about protecting young people from bullying and social media addiction by restricting access for under 16-year-olds, said MP Catherine Wedd. PHOTO: REUTERS WELLINGTON – New Zealand's governing National Party wants to restrict access to social media for those aged under 16 years, mirroring a move in Australia that sparked criticism from global tech giants. A so-called members' Bill was put forward on May 6 by National parliamentarian Catherine Wedd, with endorsement from Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. Such a Bill has to be selected from a ballot to be formally introduced into Parliament, and would require the support of National's coalition partners or the opposition to become law. 'My Social Media Age-Appropriate Users Bill is about protecting young people from bullying, inappropriate content and social media addiction by restricting access for under 16-year-olds,' Ms Wedd said in a statement. 'The Bill puts the onus on social media companies to verify that someone is over the age of 16 before they access social media platforms.' Australia in late 2024 passed a law that banned children under the age of 16 from setting up accounts on popular social media sites including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok. Global tech giants like Meta and Google were critical of the Australian legislation, which made them responsible for policing the ban under the threat of heavy fines. A number of other nations and US states have attempted to or are planning to curb children's access to social media. The draft New Zealand legislation proposes financial penalties, with the courts empowered to fine platforms that fail to uphold age restrictions. Platforms would be able to rely on reasonable verification measures to demonstrate compliance. Ms Wedd said parents and school principals tell her they struggle to manage access to social media and are worried about the effect it's having on their children. The National-led government has already banned the use of mobile phones in schools. BLOOMBERG Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
NZ Herald
05-05-2025
- Politics
- NZ Herald
National introduces bill to ban social media for under-16s
National MP Catherine Wedd has introduced a new Members' Bill aiming to ban children under 16 from accessing social media platforms in New Zealand. Wedd, MP for Tukituki in Hawke's Bay, said social media was an 'extraordinary resource', but it comes with risks. 'Right now, we aren't managing the risks for our young people well.' On X this morning, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said this move is intended to protect young people from bullying, inappropriate content and social media addiction. Wedd said the Social Media Age-Appropriate Users Bill would put the onus on social media companies to verify that someone is over the age of 16 before they access social media platforms. Currently, there are no legally enforceable age verification measures for social media platforms in New Zealand.
