By Harriette Boucher of The Post
Australia is moving to impose age limits on social media – and New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is open to looking at the issue.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says he’s be open to looking at the age limits on social media use. ROBERT KITCHIN / THE POST
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made the announcement on Tuesday, saying the government would enforce the minimum age to social media “and other relevant digital platforms”.
“We know social media is causing social harm and it is taking kids away from real friends and real experiences,” he said.
“Australian young people deserve better and I stand with them and with all Australian parents in protecting our kids.”
On Tuesday, Luxon was asked if New Zealand would follow suit.
“It’s something that I’ve been following as well from around the world, as you know, with mobile phone bans and things like that.
He said he was “up for looking at all of that”.
However, it was not on Luxon’s “quarterly action plan”.
Labour leader Chris Hipkins said he would also be open to a discussion on it.
“I do think keeping kids safe online is becoming more and more of a challenge for parents, for schools, even with the incredible filtering that we have in our schools already.”
He said that he had put parental controls on his kids’ devices and encouraged “parents to make sure they know what their kids are looking at online and use the tools that are available now”.
Social media restrictions to come in Australia
According to the Department of Internal Affairs, most social media sites in New Zealand have an age barrier of 13.
Popular social media platforms TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube are among those that require the user to be 13.
Willow-Jean Prime, the Labour Party’s spokesperson for youth and children, said she was concerned about the dangers social media posed for young people and thought a ban in New Zealand was something worth having a conversation about.
“It’s worth having a conversation about it and looking at what they’re doing to address the issues that they’re seeing.”
The Australian legislation will be introduced this year, but it is not yet known what age limits will apply to the platforms.
Michelle Rowland, Australia’s Minister for Communications said big tech platforms had a responsibility to keep their users safe, and the government would be holding them to account.
“We will continue to engage experts, young people, advocates and parents through the age assurance trial which is an important aspect of this journey,” she said.
