Reddit is contesting Australia’s ban on social media for minors in a High Court appeal

Reddit has taken Australia’s landmark ban on children using social media to the country’s highest court, seeking to overturn it.

Under new laws that came into effect on Wednesday, the online forum is one of 10 social media platforms that must ban Australians under 16 from opening accounts.

The ban, which is being closely watched around the world, was justified by campaigners and the government as necessary to protect children from harmful content and algorithms.

Reddit is complying with the ban but will argue in its case that the policy has serious implications for privacy and political rights. It is the second such legal challenge, with two Australian teenagers also awaiting a High Court hearing.

“Despite good intentions, this law falls short of its target,” Reddit said in an update on its website. “The Australian government has more effective ways to achieve our shared goal of protecting young people.”

Australia’s Communications Minister, Anika Wells, had previously stated that the government would not be intimidated by legal threats.

After news of the first legal challenge broke last month, she told Parliament, “We will not be intimidated by big tech companies. We will stand firmly on behalf of Australian parents.”

In the case, which the High Court has agreed to consider at a date next year, two 15-year-old boys from New South Wales are claiming that the social media ban is unlawful because it infringes on “freedom to discuss government and political matters.”

“Democracy does not begin at 16, as this law says,” Maisie Newland said after filing her lawsuit.

The ban has excited world leaders and worried tech companies but has also drawn criticism from some who say a complete ban is neither practical nor sensible.

Experts fear that children will be able to easily circumvent the ban—either by bypassing age-verification technology or by finding other, perhaps less safe, places to gather online. And while some mental health advocates support it, many have argued that it cuts off young people’s connections—especially those from LGBTQ+, neurodivergent, or rural communities—and leaves them less prepared to deal with the realities of life online.

But the policy is wildly popular with parents, drawing support from figures like Oprah, Prince Harry, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.

Reddit’s case is separate from a lawsuit filed last month by an internet rights group, which is also seeking to overturn the laws on the grounds that they are an “unjust” attack on free speech.

Australia’s social media ban is being closely watched by those concerned about the dangers of social media, with New Zealand and Malaysia also considering similar restrictions.

The Australian government acknowledges that the ban will not be complete at first and that savvy teenagers will find ways to get around the cracks. But officials say unprecedented steps are needed to protect children from “violent algorithms” that fill phone screens with bullying, sex, and violence.

In a statement on their website, the pair praised Australia’s “bold” move but said, “This should not have happened.” “We hope this ban marks the beginning of a reckoning between society and the tech companies that built these platforms with development rather than safety as their first principle.”

Governments from the US state of Florida to the European Union have been experimenting with limiting children’s use of social media. But, with a high age limit of 16, Australia is the first jurisdiction to reject an exemption for parental consent in such a policy, ​​making its laws some of the strictest in the world.

Reddit said the law forces “intrusive and potentially unsafe verification processes on adults as well as minors,” isolates teens from engaging in “age-appropriate community experiences,” and creates “an illogical patchwork of which platforms are included and which are not.”

“There are more targeted, privacy-preserving measures to keep young people safe online, without a blanket ban.” They added that this isn’t an attempt to “evade compliance” or “retain young users for business reasons.”

It added, “Unlike other platforms covered by this law, most Redditors are older; we don’t target marketing or advertising to children under 18.”

The ban also applies to other platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok.