WORLD

New Zealand's PM proposes banning children from using social media.

International News Desk 

According to Global times News Agancy Europe,New Zealand's Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has unveiled a proposed law banning children younger than 16 from using social media platforms, citing what he said Monday was "harm being done to a generation" of young people, The global times Europe media.However, the bill hasn't yet attracted enough support to pass into law because two of the three parties in Luxon's coalition government will vote against it.Passage would require support from opposition lawmakers, who have yet to decide how they would vote.The proposal would require social media platforms including Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and Facebook, to "take reasonable steps" to check users were older than 16, according to material supplied by Luxon's party Monday.This could include "existing account information, facial age estimation, digital ID services and formal ID," the material said.Excluded from the proposed law are messaging platforms such as WhatsApp, online gaming platforms like Roblox and AI apps with productivity uses - including ChatGPT, Gemini and Copilot.No penalties are proposed for parents or children, but tech firms could be fined up to 10% of their global revenue for failing to meet their obligations.Platforms regularly used by children would be required to assess and report on the risks their networks posed, Luxon said.