New Zealand’s government announced on Monday it intends to ban children under 16 from social media, placing the verification burden squarely on the platforms themselves.
Under the draft law, platforms classified by the government as “high risk” would be required to take reasonable steps to confirm that users are older than 16. Acceptable methods include existing account information, facial age estimation technology, digital identity services, and official identification documents.
Education Minister Erika Stanford said the move was designed to protect young people online, give parents greater support, and hold major technology companies accountable.
New Zealand follows Australia, which passed similar legislation last year setting the same age threshold, as governments across the Asia-Pacific region increasingly look to regulate minors’ access to social platforms.
