Meta pushes parental control over NZ teen social media bans

Meta has staged its first Instagram Safety Camp for parents in New Zealand and released new polling that points to stronger support for parental choice than a ban on social media for under-16s.

Meta said more than 70 parents attended the invitation-only event in Auckland. The company's Vice President and Global Head of Safety Antigone Davis travelled to New Zealand for the programme, which focused on online safety tools and on how families manage social media use.

The event took place as New Zealand debates proposals that could restrict teenagers' access to social media.

Meta also published research carried out by Ipsos on its behalf. The survey covered 832 parents of children under 18 in New Zealand.

Parents' views

The research found 57% of parents surveyed would prefer parents decide whether teens under 16 can have social media accounts. In comparison, 43% preferred a ban on social media for those under 16.

When asked who should hold the most responsibility for deciding whether teens can have social media accounts, 73% of respondents said parents. The survey found 21% nominated the New Zealand government.

The same research also reported broad support for app store approval for younger teenagers. Meta said 85% of parents surveyed would support a law that requires parental approval for children under 16 to download apps.

Meta said the research also found 76% of parents surveyed would find it easier to provide approval in a single place such as an app store rather than separately in each app. The survey found 69% of parents would trust app stores more than individual apps to handle the personal data needed to verify parental approval.

Meta pointed to existing features in the Apple App Store and Google Play that can manage app distribution for families.

Policy debate

Meta used the findings to argue against blanket restrictions and for measures that sit at the app store level. The company pointed to legislative activity in the United States and said versions of an app store parental approval model have been introduced in nearly 30 states since 2025 and in Congress.

Meta said versions have been signed into law in Texas, Utah, Louisiana, and California, and that a similar approach exists in Brazil.

Meta also referenced Australia's experience with a social media ban for under-16s and said industry still faces implementation challenges. The company cited reported issues around inconsistent age verification methods and the accuracy of facial age estimation near the 16-year threshold.

"Parents want more tools and more control - not blanket bans that create new complexities and unintended consequences like pushing teens to unregulated apps and services," said Antigone Davis, Vice President and Global Head of Safety, Meta.

Teen Accounts

At the Auckland event, Meta highlighted Instagram Teen Accounts. Meta described these accounts as having protections that turn on automatically, with parents deciding whether teens under 16 can loosen settings.

Meta said Teen Accounts default to private accounts. Teens need to accept new followers, according to the company. People who do not follow them cannot see their content or interact with them, Meta said.

Meta said Teen Accounts apply messaging restrictions by default. Teens can only receive messages from people they follow or are already connected to, according to the company.

Meta said Teen Accounts place teens into its most restrictive sensitive content setting by default. Meta said this setting limits the type of sensitive content teens see in areas such as Explore and Reels. The company gave examples including content that shows people fighting or promotes cosmetic procedures.

Meta said Teen Accounts also limit interactions. Teens can only be tagged or mentioned by people they follow, according to the company. Meta said it turns on the most restrictive version of Hidden Words. The tool filters offensive words and phrases from comments and direct message requests.

Meta said Teen Accounts provide time limit reminders. It said teens receive notifications asking them to leave the app after 60 minutes each day.

Meta said Teen Accounts turn on sleep mode by default between 10pm and 7am. Meta said the setting mutes notifications overnight and sends auto-replies to direct messages.

Meta said Teen Accounts blur images in messages that its systems detect as containing nudity. Meta also said the ability to start a live broadcast is off by default for Teen Accounts.

Camp format

Meta said the Safety Camp included sessions on Teen Accounts, a panel with Netsafe and Gen-Z Aotearoa, and a discussion with New Zealand content creator Brit Cunningham about social media conversations in families. Actor Jayden Daniels moderated the panel, Meta said. Television and radio presenter Ben Boyce hosted the overall event.

Meta said parents took part in themed activity stations and asked questions in discussions with Meta staff.

Meta positioned the camp as part of a broader focus on family supervision of teens' use of Instagram as policy makers consider new restrictions on youth social media access.