Should social media be banned for children?
Summary
Right now, Aotearoa is having an important conversation about online safety for tamariki and rangatahi. Our government is weighing up its options for keeping children safe online. We all want children to be safe when they pick up a phone or open a laptop – in fact, they have the right to be safe in every space they’re in.
Making the online world safe for children
We know we can do more than just exclude children from social media to keep them safe. Aotearoa can create legislation that prioritise children’s rights and protects them from harm.
Together with the Children’s Convention Monitoring Group, we’ve put together an explainer about the potential social media ban.
How would a ban affect New Zealand’s children?
While excluding children from social media is one approach, Aotearoa has a more powerful opportunity to enact laws that put children’s rights and safety at the heart of the digital world.
Focusing solely on a ban risks missing the mark, as we’re worried that a ban would:
- Distract from regulation: It shifts responsibility to children and whānau instead of fixing unsafe systems.
- Cause unintended harm: It may lock LGBTIQA+ and marginalised communities out of support networks.
- Stall digital capability: We don’t just give 16-year-olds car keys; we teach them to drive. We must help young people navigate social media safely with proper education.
- Increase privacy risks: Age verification may rely on intrusive monitoring or identity checks.
So, should social media be banned for under 16's?
In short, we can do better than banning social media. When we want a room to be safe for children, we childproof it – we don’t lock them out altogether. We can make the online world safer by design.
This means regulating tech companies and holding platforms accountable while ensuring young people are meaningfully involved in shaping the rules.
What needs to happen now to keep children safe?
If we’re serious about safety, we need to make the online world safer by design and ensure children and young people are meaningfully involved in shaping the rules, reporting pathways, and protections that affect them.
To make the online world safer by design, we must ensure children and young people are meaningfully involved in shaping the rules, reporting pathways, and protections that affect them.
Together with the Children’s Convention Monitoring Group, we’ve put together an explainer about the potential social media ban.
5 Steps to a Safer Online World
Here are practical steps Aotearoa can take now to protect our young people:
- Regulate tech companies so they are required to meaningfully prevent, report, and remove harmful content on their platforms.
- Hold platforms accountable for creating unsafe spaces, including the ways product features and algorithms can amplify harmful content or keep children online longer.
- Establish an independent national online safety regulator with the powers and resources to set standards, investigate harms, and ensure compliance.
- Review and strengthen the online safety legislative framework so responsibilities are clear, child-rights-based, and fit for rapidly changing technology.
- Invest in digital citizenship education for children and their families so they can build skills, confidence, and support networks to navigate online life safely.
Conclusion
Most importantly, tamariki and rangatahi should be part of the solution—from policy design through to how platforms are held to account. Our young people support changes to the way social media works.
Read more in the explainer - Making the online world safe for children.
