# New Zealand bill would require age checks for under-16 social-media access

_Sunday, August 23, 2026 at 11:27 PM EDT · Power, Products · Developing · Tier 1 — Major_

![New Zealand bill would require age checks for under-16 social-media access — Primary](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/V6NOX42D5NELFGTVZM2B7WAVZE.jpg?auth=87590946b503d6c344a62d8b5690d11d5d50d63223fc622bcee10c20aa1a00fd&width=1200&height=675&quality=70&focal=1516%2C320&smart=false)

New Zealand's National Party has introduced legislation that would require high-risk social-media platforms to take reasonable steps to verify users are at least 16, according to the NZ Herald.

The bill would create an online-safety regulator within the Department of Internal Affairs and allow financial penalties of up to 10% of global annual revenue. It excludes services chiefly used for messaging, calling, games, education, health, music, podcasts and professional networking, as well as AI chatbots.

Coalition partners NZ First and Act oppose the proposal, and a first reading will not occur before the election.

## Sources

- [nzherald.co.nz](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/social-media-ban-department-of-internal-affairs-says-it-never-provided-advice-on-options-to-restrict-virtual-private-networks-vpns/OJ7DONI5WVDAXGK36LAP7DCI2Y/)

---
Canonical: https://techandbusiness.org/newswire/8zpwHDwvxHcQmjv2bvAayd
Retrieved: 2026-08-26T04:29:58.208Z
Publisher: Tech & Business (techandbusiness.org)