The Government is pushing ahead with banning social media for under-16s.
It mirrors rules that took effect in Australia last year, requiring the likes of Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube to bring in stronger age verification.
If they don’t, the social media giants could face fines of up to 10% of their global revenue.
But coalition partners Act and New Zealand First both agree to disagree with it – and National leader Christopher Luxon has admitted the bill won’t get a look-in before the election.
Act leader David Seymour said fining a global company like Meta US$33 billion ($55b) would be nice, and the New Zealand Government would finally be in surplus, if they’d ever pay.
Tech Users Association of New Zealand chief executive Craig Young told The Front Page that the size of the potential fine would send a strong message about corporate responsibility, but in practice collecting the money could be extremely difficult.
“It’s been talked about on several fronts. There’s been talk of a streaming tax, and one of the reasons why these things get dropped is that the revenue that they gain from New Zealand is insignificant.
“Some of them don’t even have New Zealand registered companies ... So if you tried to fine them in New Zealand courts, it’s ineffectual because they’re actually located somewhere else.
“You have to take it up in their home country, and it’s highly unlikely that you’ll be successful in that environment,” he said.
The proposed laws won’t even be tabled during this Government, given Parliament rises next month in preparation for the election in November.
“It feels like the National Party decided that this has been sitting around for long enough, that while they’re not gonna be able to get it through Parliament in this sitting, they will signal that this is an issue to them.
“They’re making a play for a vote of parents really, because I talk to parents, young parents, through our Future Leaders programme who have kids that are growing up and wanting to get onto social media, and even these tech-savvy young parents want a ban so they can tell their kids they’re not allowed it,” Young said.
Australia’s early evaluation found under‑16s still using platforms three months after the ban. Britain has seen similar non‑compliance issues on adult‑content sites, with many young people accessing them without age checks.
“If you look at the example of Brazil, they’re putting in age restrictions not at the app level but at the device level, so on the software.
“So they have implemented legislation where the teenager’s app store on their phone must be connected to an adult’s account. That way you can’t even download an app, say for example Facebook or Instagram, unless the app store and parent connection has verified that you are over-16.
“I’m really keen to see how that works because I do think that is a better way of doing it than blocking at the app level,” he said.
Labour will discuss the Government’s social media ban for under-16s for the first time at its caucus meeting today after receiving 100 pages of answers from Education Minister Erica Stanford.
Leader Chris Hipkins said the party would state its position before the election.
Listen to the full episode to hear more about:
- International examples
- Election politics
- Pushing young people elsewhere
- Parental responsibility.
The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald , available to listen to every weekday from 5pm. The podcast is presented by Chelsea Daniels, an Auckland-based journalist with a background in world news and crime/justice reporting who joined NZME in 2016.
You can follow the podcast at iHeartRadio , Apple Podcasts , Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
