{"slug": "new-zealand-introduces-under-16-social-media-ai-companion-ban", "title": "New Zealand Introduces Under-16 Social Media, AI Companion Ban", "summary": "New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon introduced the Online Safety (Minimum Age and Child Safety Risk Assessment) Bill, which would ban children under 16 from social media platforms and AI companion services. The bill requires platforms to verify ages through methods such as facial scans and user activity patterns, and mandates child safety risk assessments for all users under 18.", "body_md": "New Zealand has introduced legislation that would ban children under 16 from social media platforms and AI companion services. \"We have protections to keep children safe in the real world and we need them in the virtual world too,\" said Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in announcing the bill. Jurist.org reports: The 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.\nNotably, 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.[Read more of this story](https://tech.slashdot.org/story/26/08/25/2116226/new-zealand-introduces-under-16-social-media-ai-companion-ban?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed) at Slashdot.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/new-zealand-introduces-under-16-social-media-ai-companion-ban", "canonical_source": "https://tech.slashdot.org/story/26/08/25/2116226/new-zealand-introduces-under-16-social-media-ai-companion-ban?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed", "published_at": "2026-08-25 22:00:00+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-08-25 22:12:50.617177+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-policy", "ai-safety"], "entities": ["New Zealand", "Christopher Luxon", "Online Safety (Minimum Age and Child Safety Risk Assessment) Bill"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/new-zealand-introduces-under-16-social-media-ai-companion-ban", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/new-zealand-introduces-under-16-social-media-ai-companion-ban.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/new-zealand-introduces-under-16-social-media-ai-companion-ban.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/new-zealand-introduces-under-16-social-media-ai-companion-ban.jsonld"}}