新西兰教育与劳动力选择委员会在3月提出了包括社交媒体禁令在内的12项建议[1]，政府随后在6月发布了中期回应[1]。不过，社交媒体禁令的有效性仍存疑虑。澳大利亚在线安全专员3月发布的首份合规报告显示，许多16岁以下的青少年仍然能够创建账户[1]，且在年龄限制规定实施首三个月内，青少年的社交媒体使用情况变化有限[1]。
澳大利亚通过《在线安全法案2021》建立了eSafety专员制度[1]，对平台进行系统监管。相比之下，新西兰目前尚无与澳大利亚eSafety专员等效的机构[1]。建立独立的在线安全监管机构可能比单纯的禁令更具可行性，为新西兰提供了一条值得借鉴的政策路径。
New Zealand's Education and Workforce Committee put forward 12 recommendations in March, including proposals for social media age restrictions, but the government's response in June proved limited in scope.[1] While countries like Australia and the United Kingdom have already implemented bans, evidence of their effectiveness remains inconclusive, suggesting New Zealand should pursue a different regulatory approach.
Australia's Online Safety Act 2021 created an independent eSafety Commissioner to oversee online harms, a model that New Zealand currently lacks an equivalent for.[1] However, the early results from Australia's age restriction framework have been mixed. The eSafety Commissioner's first compliance report in March revealed that many teenagers under 16 could still create accounts on social media platforms.[1] During the first three months of implementing the age limit rules, usage changes among young people proved minimal.[1]
Rather than hastily adopting outright bans on social media, New Zealand would benefit from establishing an independent regulatory body similar to Australia's eSafety Commissioner system to more effectively manage online safety concerns.[1]
