Another country wants to ban social media for children under 16: age will be verified by face and documents

New Zealand is preparing a bill that could ban children under 16 from using social media. Platforms will be required to verify the age of users, including through facial recognition technology and digital documents. Companies could face fines of up to 10% of their global revenue for violating the rules.

The Prime Minister of New Zealand, Christopher Lacson, announced the preparation of the bill, Reuters reports.

According to him, the initiative is intended to protect minors from harmful content, addiction to social networks and other risks that can affect mental health, sleep, education and children’s relationships with their families.

How will they check how old a user is

If the law is passed, social platforms will have to take measures to prevent users under 16 from using their services.

Several mechanisms are proposed to be used to verify age:

information related to accounts;

facial recognition technology;

digital identification documents.

Thus, simply indicating the date of birth during registration may not be enough.

For technology companies, serious liability is envisaged. For failure to comply with the established requirements, the fine can reach 10% of the platform’s global revenue.

“We cannot accept harm to an entire generation”

Lacson explained the need to limit the scale of the influence of social networks on minors.

According to him, children are faced with harmful content, technologies that can cause addiction, and psychological pressure for which they may not be ready.

The consequences, according to the prime minister, are felt not only by the children themselves, but also by their families, and excessive use of social networks can affect mental health, quality of sleep and education.

The bill has already caused controversy

However, there are currently no guarantees that the document will be adopted.

The New Zealand First party, which is part of the government coalition, opposed the initiative. Its leader and Foreign Minister Winston Peters warned of the risks of excessive state intervention.

He also criticized the Australian experience and stated that parents should bear responsibility for children’s use of social networks first and foremost.

Thus, two positions have already formed around the bill: supporters believe that strict restrictions are necessary to protect children, while critics fear state interference in family decisions and potential restrictions on users’ rights.

Banning social networks for children is becoming a global trend

New Zealand is far from the first country to decide to restrict minors’ access to social networks.

Australia was the first in the world to introduce a ban for children under 16. The restrictions came into effect in December 2025.

Similar decisions or legislative initiatives have also appeared in a number of European countries and other regions of the world.

Restrictions for minors have already been introduced or are being prepared, in particular, by Indonesia, Turkey, Malaysia, the UAE, Azerbaijan, Spain, Poland, Germany, Austria, Greece and Lithuania.

In the UK, corresponding restrictions for children under 16 are to come into effect from 2027.

The European Union is also discussing the possibility of broader restrictions on children’s access to social platforms.

In July, France became the first EU country whose parliament supported a ban on social networks for children under 15. However, in August, the Constitutional Council blocked the legislative changes, recognizing them as violating freedom of speech. President Emmanuel Macron then instructed the government to finalize the initiative.

Therefore, the debate about who should control the presence of children on social networks – the state, technology companies or parents – is becoming increasingly acute in different countries of the world.