National Tukituki MP Catherine Wedd has put forward a new members’ bill to protect young people from social media harm by restricting access for under 16s.

“Social media is an extraordinary resource, but it comes with risks, and right now we aren’t manging the risks for our young people well,” Catherine Wedd says.

“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 puts 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.

“As a mother of four children I feel very strongly that families and parents should be better supported when it comes to overseeing their children’s online exposure.

“Parents and principals are constantly telling me they struggle to manage access to social media and are worried about the effect it’s having on their children.

“The bill closely mirrors the approach taken in Australia, which passed the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill in December 2024.”

“Other jurisdictions are also taking action. Texas recently passed legislation which bans under 18s from social media use and the UK, the EU and Canada all have similar work in train.

“This bill builds on National’s successful and successful cell phone ban in schools and reinforces the Government’s commitment to setting our children up for success.”

Notes:

• A copy of the Social Media Age-Restricted Users Bill is attached here.
• Key provisions of the Bill include:
  • Provider obligations: Social media platforms must take all reasonable steps to prevent under-16s from creating accounts.
  • Enforcement: The Bill introduces penalties for non-compliance, with courts empowered to issue financial penalties against platforms that fail to uphold age restrictions.
  • Defences for providers: Platforms can rely on reasonable verification measures to demonstrate compliance.
  • Regulatory oversight: The Minister will have the authority to designate specific platforms as age-restricted and enforce compliance.
  • Review mechanism: The law will be reviewed three years after implementation to assess its effectiveness and consider necessary amendments.

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