According to a report by Reuters on August 24th, New Zealand Prime Minister John Key announced in a statement that his party would submit a bill to the parliament prohibiting teenagers under 16 from using social media.
The bill requires social media platforms to take reasonable measures to verify users’ ages, including using account information, facial recognition technology, and digital identification documents. For platforms that fail to comply with the ban, the bill proposes a fine of up to 10% of their global revenue.
Lacson explained in his statement, "We cannot accept the harm that social media causes to New Zealand children. Social media exposes them to harmful content, addictive technologies, and overwhelming stress, which is affecting their family life, mental health, sleep, and education."
Currently, it is unclear whether the bill proposed by New Zealand’s ruling party will receive sufficient support in parliament. Both the ACT Party and the New Zealand First Party, part of the ruling coalition, have stated that they will not support this bill.
In December last year, Australia became the first country in the world to ban the use of social media by teenagers under the age of 16. However, a peer-reviewed study published in June this year indicates that there is little evidence to suggest that teenagers have reduced their use of social media as a result of this ban, leading to widespread discussion about the actual effectiveness of the ban.
