A human rights group is supporting demands for the government to establish an independent online safety regulator.
A report by the parliamentary select committee on social media harm for young people was released on Thursday.
Among its recommendations to the government and the private sector are a ban on social media for under-16s, creation of a national regulator for safe platforms, and regulation of deepfake technology.
“It’s really important that we’ve got a regulator that is continually monitoring what’s happening, continually monitoring, ‘Do we have the right laws in place? Are they effective, or do they need to be changed?'” Amnesty International Aotearoa New Zealand’s Lisa Woods said.
Woods emphasised that any regulator must have the power to penalise social media companies to be effective.
The New Zealand government considered a social media ban following Australia’s implementation, with the National Party eager to advance it before the end of this term.
Woods stated that Amnesty International New Zealand opposes a social media ban for under-16s, as it fails to tackle the root causes of harm.
“Platforms are being designed to promote content that drives engagement, regardless of harmful effects,” she said.
“Just removing someone from social media is not taking care of platform design.”
Woods argued that banning social media for youth shifts the safety burden onto young people and parents, letting platforms maintain their business models.
National’s committee lead on the inquiry, Carl Bates, described the committee’s report as a step towards “important, timely action.” He said the report clearly showed that the harm young New Zealanders face from online platforms is “significant,” “fast-moving,” and global in scale.
Bates said Education Minister Erica Stanford will now review the recommendations.