Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s ruling party wants to keep young people under 16 away from social media in the future. Education Minister Erica Stanford announced a bill that would oblige platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube and X to carry out age checks using ID or biometric verification.
“We protect children from dangers in the real world. It is time to take their safety online just as seriously,” Stanford said at a press conference. Platforms would also have to regularly assess risks and report on how they intend to curb dangers. Violations could result in fines of up to ten percent of global turnover.
Whether the bill will pass parliament is open: coalition partners of the National Party reject the proposal, and the opposition Labour Party has not yet commented. France, Britain and Turkey are also planning age limits; in Germany, Federal Family Minister Karin Prien (CDU) is campaigning for this. In Australia, a corresponding regulation came into force as early as December 2025.
Source: www.zeit.de
