New Zealand Introduces Under-16 Social Media, AI Companion Ban (jurist.org)
- Reference: 0185157486
- News link: https://tech.slashdot.org/story/26/08/25/2116226/new-zealand-introduces-under-16-social-media-ai-companion-ban
- Source link: https://www.jurist.org/news/2026/08/new-zealand-pm-introduces-under-16-social-media-and-ai-companion-ban/
> The [3]Online Safety (Minimum Age and Child Safety Risk Assessment) Bill would require an age restriction on platforms with harmful features for children. These features include recommender systems, endless feeds, feedback features and time-limited features. The bill also seeks to restrict underage users from accessing AI companion services. However, it explicitly excludes messaging apps, professional networking sites, gaming and music platforms, and other educational and health tools.
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> Notably, age verification through self-declared dates of birth and formal identification does not satisfy the platforms' duty under the law. It also requires platforms to verify their users' age through other methods such as facial scans and user activity patterns. The bill would also require platforms to conduct child safety risk assessments for all users under 18 and protect them from harmful content such as bullying, violence, and sexually explicit materials.
[1] https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/government-moves-ban-u16s-social-media
[2] https://www.jurist.org/news/2026/08/new-zealand-pm-introduces-under-16-social-media-and-ai-companion-ban
[3] https://www.legislation.govt.nz/bill/government/2026/339/en/latest/
Too bad for Slashdot (Score:1)
I guess that means Slashdot will have to implement stricter controls against letting under-16-ers from logging on and becoming addicted to maintaining positive Karma, and nervously fretting over what other Slashdotters think of them and their posts.
Re: (Score:3)
They could just make UIDs newer than 16 years read-only to the site. We would probably lose no one :D
Re: So no free speech in New Zeland (Score:2)
I [1]wouldn't say that [thespinoff.co.nz]
[1] https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/15-05-2025/echo-chamber-a-c-bomb-explodes-in-parliament
I'm only here for the (Score:2)
I'm only here for the libertarians frothing at the mouth at the loss of freedom. Free speech died today, or something.
Must get me some popcorn.
Re: (Score:3)
The LP is dead as a doornail and 80% of libertarians became MAGA as soon as they felt like that they could be the boot and just let the Tea Party movement wash over them like ocean waves. It was mostly Republicans who didn't want to be associated with the Iraq War when Bush was wildly unpopular anyway so MAGA fits most of them like a glove.
The issue of free speech has been ceded to the Democrats in the national divorce, along with free trade, American football and the Constitution in general.
Are any Social Media sites based in NZ (Score:1)
And what stops NZers from using social media from places like China
Won't somebody please think of the children? (Score:1)
We've seen these attempts for years and years, and now it seems the politicians are finally having some success at trying to collect everyone's personal information by claiming it's "for the children", now on the basis that "social media" is witchcraft^W addictive like heroin.
This is a roundabout way to get rid (Score:2, Interesting)
Of American social media companies that have become propaganda arms for billionaires.
Not that the ruling class of Europe really particularly cares about billionaire propaganda but they aren't going to let foreign countries billionaires spread propaganda inside their borders because what kind of fucking stupid person would allow that?
I mean besides America.
This is always been how Facebook survives. Young people inevitably bail on Facebook because they don't want to be on the same social media Netwo
Re: It's about destroying privacy and security (Score:4, Interesting)
Not doing this has already resulted in the violation of the privacy of billions of people.
I guess it is a compromise choice between:
1. Let the government track you only, with the hope that you can pry back or limit the scope of that information by petitioning your representives (for those of you in a functioning democracy)
2. Let silicon valley tech firms track you. Sell your data on the open market. Limit what you can even find out about the private data they have leaked. And when you go to petition your legislature, have them spend hundreds of millions or billions in lobbying against the best interests of typical voters.
I think you're missing the point (Score:1)
They don't really give a shit about privacy and they're just going to have their own homegrown companies rape your privacy and push billionaire propaganda it'll just be more local billionaire propaganda as opposed to international billionaire propaganda.
The point I'm trying to make is this isn't your upstanding up for privacy or the rights of children or any of that this is just standard run of the mill international politics enacted by the same ruling class we should be getting pissed off at but we nev
Re:It's about destroying privacy and security (Score:4, Insightful)
Maybe as Americans we should stop voting for the "track people and round them up" party who are currently in power.
Sorry but the idea such a thing would happen under a Harris or a Hillary or any Democrat administration is just conservative propaganda at this point.
Re: It's about destroying privacy and security (Score:4, Insightful)
OK, show me your best example compared to the 2024 Trump admin, don't forget the rounding up part, that's kinda key here.
Re: It's about destroying privacy and security (Score:2)
There's only one party here in California, and if this is true, then when the hell are they going to get rid of flock? All they ever do is talk about how great it is.
Re: (Score:2)
Just a quick [1]Google search [google.com] and it looks like a bunch of cities in California have dropped Flock and and it looks like the state is looking at restricting some of their methods, I dunno if a full statewide ban has happened anywhere yet.
Now a real interesting thing would be to cross reference which cities banned it along with voter data because a lot of California is quite red just not red enough to overcome the coastal cities. Santa Cruz, El Cerrito, Mountain View etc, probably a trend.
Also the real blackpi
[1] https://www.google.com/search?q=california+cities+ban+flock&rlz=1C5OZZY_enUS1138US1138&oq=california+cities+ban+flock&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOdIBCDUzNTRqMGo3qAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
We tried (Score:2)
About 7 million Americans tried to vote in 2024 and couldn't because of common county level voters suppression tactics. Combine that with the flood of Russian propaganda and we were pretty well fucked.
When your crackhead neighbor who owns a fuck ton of guns is going through a thing letting your other crackhead neighbor fuck with him because you're hoping the two of them are going to off each other is not actually a sound policy. Because instead of getting two dead crackheads you usually get one of them
Re: (Score:1)
New Zealand is not Europe
New Zealand is not Europe (Score:2)
At one stage it was classed as part of Europe (for DVD regions)
Is that still a thing?
Re: (Score:1)
They're behaving like it.