New Zealand introduces mandatory age verification for social media users
TLDR
New Zealand's government is proposing an age-verification requirement for major social platforms, though the bill is unlikely to pass before November's election.
New Zealand introduced a draft Online Safety Bill that would mandate platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and Facebook to verify users are at least 16 years old, per Bloomberg. The proposal follows Australia's lead but faces a parliamentary delay until after the nation's November election. Early data from Australia's similar ban shows most underage users still access restricted apps through workarounds like false birth dates, and teens displaced from mainstream platforms often migrate to less-moderated alternatives—raising questions about whether age restrictions effectively protect young users or simply push them toward riskier services.