I absolutely agree that we need to do far more to protect our tamariki and rangatahi online. But I hope NZ Labour does not simply buy into National’s proposed ban on social media accounts for under-16s. Labour says it has not yet decided whether it will support the legislation.
Australia should give us reason to be cautious. Its regulator says the policy has removed or restricted millions of accounts, but also acknowledges that a substantial number of under-16s still have accounts or are able to create new ones. In other words, young people do what young people have always done — they find ways around barriers.
We need something much more comprehensive than simply drawing an arbitrary line at 16.
We should be strengthening laws protecting children from adults who prey on them online, investing substantially more in education so young people, parents and schools can recognise grooming and other harmful behaviour, and putting much tougher obligations on technology companies around algorithms, addictive design and the content they push towards children.
As someone who has spent years advocating in mental health and suicide prevention, I know how serious online harm can be. That is precisely why we need policy based on evidence, prevention and enforceable protections — not a law that sounds decisive but risks creating a false sense that the problem has been solved.
Protecting young people online is absolutely the right objective. The question is whether banning them from social media is the right way to achieve it.
Let’s regulate the harm, hold the platforms and predators accountable, educate our rangatahi — and make sure whatever Parliament passes actually works.
