Under-16 social media ban: Dr Rachel Tan says age limits won’t stop online hate
Keeping children off social media is “not a silver bullet” for online hate, says Tauranga law lecturer Dr Rachel Tan.
Tan’s PhD research argues restricting social media access will do little to change harmful content and algorithms platforms use to keep people engaged.
She wants New Zealand to consider a statutory duty of care that makes social media companies responsible for harm their services create.
Netsafe, New Zealand’s online safety organisation, supports stronger protections for young people but says age restrictions alone will not prevent online harm and platforms must take greater responsibility.
National proposed an Under-16 social media ban in August that requires platforms to take “reasonable steps” to prevent children from creating accounts and report on managing risks.
Labour supports a ban alongside stronger obligations for platforms.
The Greens, Act and New Zealand First raised concerns about privacy, enforcement and whether age restrictions address the role social media companies play in online harm.
Tan told the Bay of Plenty Times about an incident at an Australian petrol station where a stranger threw a paper bag at her and yelled: “Go back to where you came from”.
Tan said experiences like these contributed to her interest in online hate speech and how social media could give hateful views another way to spread.
The Tauranga-based law lecturer recently graduated with her PhD examining online hate speech and how New Zealand could better regulate social media companies.
Her research argues age restrictions may limit young people’s access to social media but do little to address the harmful content and algorithms operating behind the platforms.
“If the goal is to make the online environment safer, then we need to look beyond access alone.”
Tan said the proposed under-16 ban could be part of a broader approach but should not distract from the responsibility of the companies running the platforms.
“It’s not a silver bullet, honestly.
“We cannot actually place the entire burden on online safety alone on individual users while overlooking responsibilities of platforms.”
Her research was influenced by the 2019 Christchurch mosque attacks and the role social media platforms played in spreading extremist content.
Tan said online hate was not confined to a screen, allowing people with similar views to connect, reinforce their beliefs and carry those attitudes into the real world.
She said social media could also embolden users to express views they might never voice face-to-face.
A key concern was the role algorithms played in directing users towards increasingly similar content, keeping them engaged longer.
Tan argued that responsibility should not rest solely with individual users, but also with the platforms designed to amplify and distribute content.
She said social media companies should face stronger legal obligations to identify and reduce the risks their services create.
Tan wants New Zealand to consider introducing a statutory duty of care requiring social media companies to take greater responsibility for the harm their services could cause.
That could include greater transparency, risk reporting and changes to platform design rather than relying solely on removing harmful posts.
Researching the subject had changed her view of social media, which she once saw as a way for people to connect.
Tan said she now preferred to use social media to look at “cute things like kitty cats and bunny rabbits”.
Victoria University of Wellington senior lecturer in information management Dr Alex Beattie told The Front Page in October that effective change would require a combination of Government regulation and community-led efforts to help parents support each other.
He said social media was deeply embedded in young people’s lives and parents were understandably concerned about its influence.
Beattie pointed to grassroots movements, where parents agreed to delay giving their children smartphones and social media accounts, which could help ease social pressure.
Netsafe welcomed the move to strengthen online protections for young people but cautioned that age restrictions were not a complete solution to online harm.
In a statement issued when the ban was proposed, the online safety organisation said young people needed the knowledge, skills and support to navigate online environments safely, while social media platforms needed to take greater responsibility for preventing and responding to harm.
It said the proposed legislation required careful scrutiny and should not be rushed, with questions remaining about how the rules would work in practice and who would oversee and enforce them.
The organisation said the focus should remain on what would genuinely reduce online harm rather than whether someone was above or below a certain age.
Zoe Blake is a multimedia journalist at the Bay of Plenty Times and the Rotorua Daily Post.