Australia’s under-16 social media ban faces High Court challenge

Australia’s High Court is considering the first major legal challenge to the country’s social media ban for children under 16, nearly a year after the restrictions came into force. Reddit and the Australian advocacy group Digital Freedom Project brought the challenge on Tuesday, questioning the policy on safety, enforcement and constitutional grounds.

The ban, the first of its kind worldwide, took effect last December and required social media companies to remove millions of accounts. Platforms including Facebook, TikTok, YouTube and Reddit must identify users below the minimum age and delete their accounts. Companies that fail to meet those responsibilities face substantial fines.

In written arguments submitted to the court, Reddit questioned whether the restrictions were working and challenged the scientific basis for them. The company said evidence available so far indicated limited effectiveness. A study published in August by researchers based in Australia also found little evidence that teenagers had stopped accessing social media after the ban.

Reddit argued that requiring platforms to remove accounts could create greater risks for young users by taking away protections built into registered accounts. Much of the material on social media and other online platforms remains available to people who are not signed in, the company said. It argued that young people accessing those services without accounts could lose protections against exposure to certain harmful content.

Australia has said the restrictions are intended to shield children from graphic material and online predators. Although research documenting social media harms is growing, Reddit argued that there was no scientific consensus. According to the country’s online regulator, the eSafety Commissioner, the government has increased online restrictions to protect young people from the pressures and risks associated with using social media accounts.

The Digital Freedom Project, led by New South Wales politician John Ruddick, contends that the ban is unconstitutional because it limits teenagers’ participation in political discussion. Its written submissions described social media as an important route for young Australians, including those under 16, to obtain news and engage in political communication. The group also argued that the restrictions could cut off valuable opportunities for connection, support and participation.

On its website, the Digital Freedom Project describes its members as Australians concerned about growing government intervention and censorship online. It and Reddit announced separately last year that they intended to contest the ban. How long the High Court would need to consider the case remained unclear.

The legal challenge comes alongside other efforts to change how social media operates in Australia. The government has proposed laws requiring platforms to let users opt out of their algorithms. Separately, Meta and its Facebook and Instagram platforms face an Australian class action alleging that addictive design features harm children and teenagers. That lawsuit was filed for eight plaintiffs who say Meta harmed them before they turned 18.