The Department of Internal Affairs

Department of Internal Affairs | Te Tari Taiwhenua

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Resource material › Our Policy Advice Areas › Online Safety Policy

Earlier reviews: About Online Safety Policy:

Reducing the Risk of Online Harm to Children

The Online Safety (Minimum Age and Child Safety Assessment) Bill was introduced on 24 August 2026.

The Online Safety (Minimum Age and Child Safety Assessment) Bill requires social media and social AI companion platforms to take reasonable steps to prevent children under 16 years of age from having accounts and report on how they are assessing and mitigating risks of harm to all children under 18 years of age.

Frequently Asked Questions

What will this mean for my social media accounts?

Most people over 16 will not need to do anything once the Bill passes. Age-restricted social media platforms may ask to perform age checks on some people. There are many ways in which these platforms can check someone’s age.

If you are under 16 and have an account on an age-restricted social media platform, the platform may ask to check your age or deactivate your account to follow the new legislation.

Will I have to do anything different when I create an account on an age-restricted platform?

Age-restricted platforms will need to check your age before you can create an account.

Which platforms are going to be age-restricted?

Once the Bill passes, the regulator will be enforcing age restrictions against at least the same platforms included in Australia’s social media minimum age requirements. These are:
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Kick
  • Reddit
  • Snapchat
  • Threads
  • TikTok
  • Twitch
  • X (formerly Twitter)
  • YouTube
  • Bluesky
  • Yubo
  • Wizz
  • Lemon8
  • BigoLive
  • Dating services (e.g. Tinder, Hinge, OKCupid, Plenty of Fish, Match.com and Azar)
  • AI chatbots designed solely or primarily to simulate a social or emotional connection with a user will also be age-restricted. This includes:
    • Chub.AI
    • Character.AI
    • Nomi
    • Chai
    • Replika
    • Companion.AI
    • Grok Companions

How does the Bill determine if a platform is age-restricted?

The Bill imposes age restrictions on any platform that has one or more of the following features:
  • Algorithmic recommendations that personalise and provide content to people based on information obtained by the platform. This could include “For you”, “Explore” and “Discover” feeds.
  • Endless scrolling/feeds that display content to someone with no endpoint and enables seamless or continuous consumption of content.\
  • Feedback features that enable someone to see interactions and engagement from other people on content they have shared. This could include “likes”, “upvotes”, view counts and reaction icons.
  • Time-limited features that enable a user to see content only for a limited time after it has been shared. This could include seeing a friend’s “story” before it disappears or reading another person’s message in a chat before it expires.

Which platforms will not be included in the age restriction?

A platform will not be age-restricted if it is solely or primarily used for:
  • Messaging, email, voice or video-calling (e.g. Discord, Messenger and WhatsApp)
  • Product and services’ reviews, support and/or advice
  • Online multiplayer games (e.g. Roblox, Minecraft and LEGO Play)
  • Listening to music or podcasts (e.g. Spotify and Apple Music)
  • Professional networking or development (e.g. LinkedIn and GitHub)
  • Education (e.g. school moodles, Twinkl and Any Questions)
  • Health (e.g. Telehealth providers and Healthify)
General-use AI chatbots used for responding to information queries, supporting productivity or providing customer support are not age restricted. This includes platforms such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Copilot.

Why aren’t video games (e.g. Roblox, Minecraft and LEGO Play) being age restricted?

Age restriction is not the most effective method to address the harms present on online video games, and to date, online video games have not been included in other jurisdictions’ online age restrictions.

Proposals to address online harms present on online video games will be considered under a future phase of work.

What is going to be done about online video games?

Further measures to address online harms present on a wider range of platforms, including online video games, will be considered under a future phase of work.

Will I need to prove who I am to be on social media?

You will never be required to verify your identity to use social media under this legislation.

While some age-restricted platforms might offer you to provide your ID as one of the ways of proving your age, this will never be the only option available to you. The Bill explicitly prohibits a platform from relying solely on checking someone’s age through formal ID.

How can I prove my age?

There are lots of different ways a platform may check someone’s age, including estimating a person’s age through a facial scan, inferring a person’s age through information the platform already has, or verifying a person’s age through their formal ID.

An in-depth trial of the different age technologies available was done in Australia. The outcomes of the trial can be found here: Home - Age Assurance Technology Trial

How will my personal information be protected?

The Bill places additional protections on personal information collected by age-restricted platforms to check a person’s age. These protections go beyond the Privacy Act by restricting the use and disclosure of this information to age checks only. Once the age check is completed, the information must be destroyed.

A platform faces penalties of up to 10% of its global annual revenue if it does not follow these restrictions.

Why is 16 the age chosen for restrictions?

Evidence shows that children under 16 are still developing their cognitive, emotional and behavioural capabilities. This makes them particularly vulnerable to the types of harm this Bill is trying to prevent.

A minimum age of 16 is also consistent with the direction taken in other countries that have implemented or are considering similar measures, such as Australia, the United Kingdom and Canada.

Will kids or their parents be punished for not complying with these restrictions?

No. Children, their parents and caregivers will not be subject to any penalties under this legislation.

This Bill makes age-restricted platforms responsible for ensuring children under 16 do not have accounts with them.

Will this legislation regulate VPNs?

The Bill does not regulate VPNs. It is the age-restricted platforms’ responsibility to detect if a child is getting around their age restrictions and to take action to deactivate their account and prevent future circumvention.

Does this mean social media will be stopping me from using a VPN or other privacy-enhancing tools?

Age-restricted platforms will not be blocking people using VPNs or other privacy-enhancing software. The expectation is that if an age-restricted platform suspects someone from New Zealand is using a VPN, they will ensure that user’s age is checked.

Who will be enforcing the legislation?

The Department of Internal Affairs will be responsible for monitoring and enforcing the legislation. DIA will also produce guidance for platforms and educate children and their caregivers on the changes being made by the legislation.

Is this part of the select committee inquiry into harm New Zealand children face online?

The Bill aligns with recommendation four of the Education and Workforce Committee’s inquiry into the harm young New Zealanders face online but it is part of a distinct work programme.

The other recommendations of the inquiry will help inform the development of a comprehensive safety-by-design online framework for children under a future phase of work.

Will there be more protections beyond the social media age restrictions?

The Bill is the first phase of the work to improve children’s online safety. The second phase will consider a broader range of proposals to respond to online harm to children and young people on a wider range of platforms.

Related links

Standardising classification for Commercial Video
on-Demand content

The Amendment Bill was passed on 6 August 2020

The Films, Videos, and Publications Classification (Commercial Video on-Demand) Amendment Act 2020 was enacted on 6 August 2020. This means that from 1 August 2021, specified CVoD providers, which are providers of CVoD services listed in Schedule 4 of the Act (or those listed companies’ subsidiaries), are required to display label information on the movies and shows that they offer in New Zealand in line with the Classification Act.

They will need to display labels (rating/classification and descriptions) on new content they make available in New Zealand from 1 August, and the rest of their catalogues six months afterwards. To rate and label new content they make available on their platforms, providers can do it themselves by using a self-rating system that needs to be approved by the Chief Censor, or by submitting their content to the labelling body for rating and labelling.

Commercial Video on-Demand (CVoD) Regulations: October 2020 to May 2021

Once the Bill was passed, the Department focused on developing the regulations to fully establish the CVoD labelling regime. This included targeted consultation with specified CVoD providers, the Classification Office, the Film and Video Labelling Body and other key stakeholders on proposals and subsequent iterative engagement on the detail of both proposed regulations.

The Department’s engagement and work on regulations took place in October 2020 to March 2021. Feedback from targeted consultation and testing of CVoD regulations informed final proposals for two sets of CVoD regulations.

On May 2021, Cabinet confirmed the following CVoD regulations:

Public consultation – Proposals to standardise classification for Commercial Video on-Demand content: April to May 2019

Between 26 April 2019 and 26 May 2019 the Department conducted consultation on proposals to standardise classification for Commercial Video on-Demand (CVoD) content. A consultation document was published seeking New Zealand consumer and industry views on proposals to include CVoD services under New Zealand’s classifications regime.

The consultation document outlined key issues and specific questions relating to the proposed options to standardise CVoD classification. Twenty-four submissions were received during consultation.

Additional consultation – Commercial Video on-Demand (CVoD) definition criteria: September 2019

The Department conducted further consultation from 16 to 29 September 2019 with industry stakeholders on proposed criteria to determine which providers of CVoD content will be required to comply with proposed changes to the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993.

The consultation material, which was sent to both key industry providers and regulators, outlined and sought feedback on a proposed approach to determine which CVoD providers will be regulated through changes to the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993. Six submissions were received during targeted consultation.

Feedback received during consultation helped to inform the Department’s Supplementary Analysis Report and approach to regulating CVoD providers that is set out in the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification (Commercial Video on-Demand) Amendment Bill.

Related Links:

Consultation (13 December 2019)

Review of options for funding the classification framework under the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act, 1993

The Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) enables New Zealanders to make informed viewing choices about the media content they watch and interact with. The Government is seeking your views on options for cost-recovery (full, partial, or no cost-recovery) from the sector, and mechanisms (fees and/or a levy) to fund OFLC’s:
    • current classification activities prescribed under the Films, Videos, and Publications Classifications (Fees) Regulations 1994 (the Regulations); and  
    • new classification activities related to CVoD visual media content.
    Read more here: www.dia.govt.nz/Classification-funding

    Submissions closed 2 February 2020

Countering Violent Extremism Online

On 14 October 2019 the Government announced $17 million of funding over four years to boost efforts to counter violent extremism online. In December 2019, Cabinet agreed to policy proposals aimed at enhancing the ability of Government and non-government partners to deter and respond to objectionable content online under the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993.

Related Links

Classification Sector Overview

The Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993 (the Act) mandates the classification of 'publications' in a number of media. The Department's Digital Safety Directorate is responsible for a range of censorship activities, including enforcement. The Department also advises the Minister of Internal Affairs on all matters relating to the Act.

The Act seeks to maintain a balance between control of objectionable and restricted publications and individual freedom of choice. This includes considerations between the availability of some types of material that may be ‘injurious to the public good’ and section 14 of the Bill of Rights Act 1990, which states that everyone ‘has the right to freedom of expression, including the freedom to seek, receive, and impart information and opinions of any kind in any form’.

Strategic Framework

The Act does not specify outcomes to be achieved through any restriction interventions. However, the view that society may be harmed by the availability of certain types of material was enshrined by statute in New Zealand during the 1860s and remains generally accepted to this day. By implication, the desired outcome is the reduction of potential harm to the public.

The Act operates on three levels to address the harm to the public good perceived to be associated with access to potentially harmful material:
  • The rating of films and videos by an industry-based labelling body, the Film and Video Labelling Body. Ratings are not legally binding and are intended for consumer information
  • The classification of publications to restrict availability to particular persons or groups of persons (classified publications may also be subject to display restrictions). Classifications are determined by the Office of Film and Literature Classification and are legally enforceable
  • All objectionable material (as defined under the Act) is banned, including such material determined to be objectionable by the Office of Film and Literature Classification.

Ratings and Classifications

The current Act builds on previous legislation. All films and videos must be rated or classified before they are supplied to the public.

Ratings are issued by the industry-based labelling body, the Film and Video Labelling Body, in accordance with regulations made under the Act. Ratings are not legally binding and are intended for consumer information. An example is the rating M: Suitable for mature audiences 16 years and over.

Classifications are determined by the Office of Film and Literature Classification, and are legally binding (usually age-based) restrictions on the availability of publications. An example is the classification R18: Restricted to persons 18 years and over.

Films and videos must carry a label conveying the rating or classification and a descriptive note as to content, where appropriate. Labels are based on the traffic light visual system - green for general exhibition, yellow (or amber) where some caution should be exercised, and red for restricted titles.

Publications other than films and videos in ‘traditional media’ (e.g. DVDs, cinema release films) do not have to be classified or rated, but may be submitted to the Office of Film and Literature Classification for examination and classification. Suppliers of unclassified publications commit an offence if the material supplied is in fact objectionable.

Objectionable Publications

In part, the Act defines 'objectionable' as follows: 'a publication is objectionable if it describes, depicts, expresses, or otherwise deals with matters such as sex, horror, crime, cruelty, or violence in such a manner that the availability of the publication is likely to be injurious to the public good'.

The Act sets out detailed criteria to help the Office of Film and Literature Classification decide whether a publication is objectionable. It also lists six categories of material which are automatically objectionable:
  • the exploitation of children, or young persons, or both, for sexual purposes; or
  • the use of violence or coercion to compel any person to participate in, or submit to, sexual conduct; or
  • sexual conduct with or upon the body of a dead person; or
  • the use of urine or excrement in association with degrading or dehumanising conduct or sexual conduct; or
  • bestiality; or
  • acts of torture or the infliction of extreme violence or extreme cruelty.

Publication Regulation

The bodies associated with the regulation of publications are as follows:

Office of Film and Literature Classification

The Office of Film and Literature Classification (the Classification Office), is an independent Crown Entity, examines and classifies publications. It also examines and classifies advertising material associated with publications and may impose display restrictions on the advertising material and the publications themselves. The Classification Office is funded as a non-departmental output class.

Film and Video Labelling Body Inc.

This industry-based body, which was approved under the Act, issues ratings (unrestricted) to films and videos and submits to the Classification Office, films and videos of a nature that should be restricted (R-rated classifications). It issues all labels for films and videos. Labels for restricted titles are issued at the direction of the Classification Office.

Film and Literature Board of Review

This statutory body reviews decisions of the Classification Office. Reviews are re-examinations of the publications in question. The Board has the same powers of examination and classification as the Classification Office, but its decisions supersede those of the Classification Office. The Board is administered and supported by the Department’s Policy Group.

Department of Internal Affairs

The Department employs inspectors of publications that help to ensure that:
  • publications are supplied in accordance with existing classifications;
  • unclassified publications which should be classified are not supplied; and
  • supply of objectionable publications is investigated and prosecuted.
The Department also:
  • submits publications to the Classification Office;
  • services, and meets the costs of, the Film and Literature Board of Review; and
  • monitors the Classification Office on behalf of the Minister of Internal Affairs.

New Zealand Police

Every member of the Police is deemed to be an Inspector of Publications.

New Zealand Customs Service

Objectionable publications are prohibited imports and may be seized at the border.

Other Stakeholders

The Ministry of Justice and the Ministry for Women both have a policy interest in classification issues.

Minister's Specific Responsibilities

The Minister of Internal Affairs recommends to the Governor-General, the appointment of:
  • the Chief Censor and Deputy Chief Censor to the Office of Film and Literature Classification; and
  • the members of the Film and Literature Board of Review, including the President and Deputy President.
These recommendations must be made in agreement with the Minister of Justice and the Minister for Women.

The Minister also approves an organisation as the labelling body under the Act, currently the Film and Video Labelling Body. The Minister also appoints community representatives to this industry-based body, upon recommendation from the Minister of Consumer Affairs, after that Minister has consulted the Minister for Women.