Auckland. There are preparations to ban the use of social media by children under 16 years of age in New Zealand. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said on Monday that his party will introduce a bill in Parliament that proposes to keep minors away from social media platforms. Social media platforms that do not comply with the proposed law could be fined up to 10 percent of their global revenue. The government says that this step is necessary to protect children from the harm of social media.
Under the proposed bill, social media companies will have to take appropriate steps to verify the age of users. For this, methods like existing account related information, facial recognition technology and digital identity documents can be used. Luxon said New Zealand could not accept the harm caused to an entire generation of children. According to him, social media is exposing children to harmful content, addictive technology and pressures that they are not yet ready to deal with.
The Prime Minister of New Zealand said that social media is also affecting children's family life, mental health, sleep and education. He admitted that it would not be easy to implement the proposed ban completely and it would not be possible to keep every child away from social media, but he said that it is necessary to make efforts in this direction.
It is not yet clear whether the bill will get sufficient support in Parliament or not. The New Zealand First Party, which is part of Luxon's coalition government, has declined to support the proposed legislation. New Zealand First leader and Foreign Minister Winston Peters said his party was concerned about the legislation and the potential direction it could take for the country. He also opposed Australia's model and said that the responsibility of keeping children away from social media should be on the parents.