The possibility of restricting under 16-year-olds' access to social media would be looked into as part of the government's work programme, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said today.
The focus would be on reducing social media harm.
"I am concerned by the harm social media can cause young New Zealanders and I believe restricting access for under-16s would help protect our kids from bullying, harmful content and social media addiction," Luxon said.
The announcement was made today, following a burst of interest and debate about whether tighter rules are needed here, following a clamp down announced for children and teenagers in Australia.
Last year, Australia's Senate passed laws to ban young people under 16 from social media sites from the end of 2025, including Facebook, TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat, but excluding YouTube.
Recently, National MP Catherine Wedd created a members' bill that closely mirrors the Australian law, and if passed into law would require social media platforms to verify users are aged 16 or over.
Wedd's bill does not currently have the formal backing of the coalition government - meaning that if it is randomly drawn from the current crop of members' bills, it would then be debated in Parliament, before all MPs would vote on its future. However, the members' bill does have the backing of the prime minister - who has earlier said he wanted the government to explore possibly backing it into law quicker.
Luxon said today that Minister of Education Erica Stanford was to lead the new work considering the wider issue, which would be put before Cabinet. The education portfolio would be broadened, so Stanford can "commission advice and direct officials from a range of departments", for the work.
"The overwhelmingly positive response from mums and dads makes it clear we need to progress options to restrict social media for under-16s..." he said.
"Australia is currently testing a range of options for restricting social media for under-16s, and the United Kingdom, the EU, Canada and states in the US are also exploring the issue. As part of her work, Erica will consider how these other jurisdictions are implementing restrictions and what could work in New Zealand, subject to Cabinet approval."
Wedd's members' bill would remain in the ballot for now, Luxon said.
"I would like to thank Catherine Wedd for her advocacy so far and look forward to seeing how her members' bill can feed into this process."
