The New Zealand government announced on Monday that it has introduced a bill to ban social media for youth under 16. The law would require social media platforms and AI companions to verify users’ ages before providing services.

The Online Safety (Minimum Age and Child Safety Risk Assessment) Bill would require an age restriction on platforms with harmful features for children. These features include recommender systems, endless feeds, feedback features and time-limited features. The bill also seeks to restrict underage users from accessing AI companion services. However, it explicitly excludes messaging apps, professional networking sites, gaming and music platforms, and other educational and health tools.

Notably, age verification through self-declared dates of birth and formal identification does not satisfy the platforms’ duty under the law. It also requires platforms to verify their users’ age through other methods such as facial scans and user activity patterns. The bill would also require platforms to conduct child safety risk assessments for all users under 18 and protect them from harmful content such as bullying, violence, and sexually explicit materials.

Introducing the bill, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said similar laws in Australia have demonstrated effectiveness, adding: “We have protections to keep children safe in the real world and we need them in the virtual world too.”

In December 2025, Australia became the first country to ban social media for underage users. The country cited that the law has led to the deletion of over 5 million social media accounts with Prime Minister Antony Albanese vowing to strengthen the ban in June. Apart from non-compliance concerns, the government is also defending Reddit’s challenge to the ban’s constitutionality.

Several countries follow or plan to follow Australia’s path on online child protection, including the UK, France, Canada, Malaysia and Türkiye. Last week, however, the Constitutional Council of France struck down the country’s ban for violating children’s rights to free speech, communication, and privacy.

In May, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk urged countries not to impose a blanket ban on social media for underage users. He asserted that countries and tech companies should mitigate the risks through effective regulation instead.