Arabic version: المحكمة العليا تنظر في طعن على حظر وسائل التواصل الاجتماعي لمن هم دون 16 عاماً

According to ABC News, the High Court is considering the first major legal challenge to Australia’s under-16 social media ban, with Reddit and advocacy group the Digital Freedom Project arguing that the law is unconstitutional.

The policy took effect in December last year and requires platforms to take reasonable steps to stop Australians under 16 from creating or retaining accounts. It applies to Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Snapchat, X, TikTok, YouTube, Kick, Reddit and Twitch. Nearly 5 million accounts have been blocked across the 10 affected platforms since the rules began.

Reddit and the Digital Freedom Project say the ban places an unreasonable burden on Australia’s implied freedom of political communication by excluding young people from civic engagement. In written submissions, they argued there was a “fundamental disconnect” between the law’s intention and reality, saying some children had bypassed age-assurance technologies and potentially harmful content remained accessible without an account. Reddit is also seeking a declaration that it is not an “age-restricted social media platform” under the legislation.

The Commonwealth says any burden on political communication is modest and justified by protecting children from harms linked to engagement-promoting social media features. It argues the accompanying rules are consultative, targeted and able to change over time. State and territory attorneys-general have filed submissions supporting the Commonwealth, while several international organisations have sought to appear as friends of the court. Hearings are scheduled to continue on Tuesday and Wednesday.