By David Swan
US-based platform Reddit has filed a challenge in Australia’s High Court seeking to overturn the nation’s world-first social media ban for under 16s, arguing that the law infringes on free political speech and poses serious privacy risks.
The company, which is complying with the legislation while contesting it, argues that the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024 unconstitutionally restricts political communication by blocking young Australians from participating in online political discourse.
Reddit has filed a challenge in Australia’s High Court seeking to overturn the nation’s social media ban for under 16s.Credit: Bloomberg
“This law is missing the mark,” Reddit said in materials made public on Friday, arguing there are “more effective ways” to protect youth than what it calls an intrusive blanket ban that burdens everyone’s right to privacy and free expression.
The legislation, which came into effect on Wednesday, requires platforms to prevent under-16 Australians from holding accounts. Breaches carry penalties of up to $49.5 million. Reddit’s three-pronged legal assault contests both the law’s validity and whether Reddit itself qualifies as an “age-restricted social media platform” at all.
In its filing, seen by this masthead, Reddit argues that “the political views of children inform the electoral choices of many current electors, including their parents and their teachers”, and that preventing children from communicating their views “directly burdens political communication in Australia”.
The company also says that the law is ineffective, noting “a person under the age of 16 can be more easily protected from online harm if they have an account, being the very thing that is prohibited” because accounts can have safety settings applied.
Reddit said it was acting on behalf of its Australian users, who have expressed concerns about being forced to submit government ID or facial scans to access a platform built on pseudonymity. The company said it had never collected age information before and has had to build entirely new verification systems to comply.
The company also argues that it shouldn’t be captured by the law at all, given it operates as a public forum rather than a traditional social media network, and that the law is being applied arbitrarily. Discord, which hosts millions of Australian users in many cases under-16, escaped the legislation. So did gaming platforms with embedded chat such as Roblox. Reddit argues that it’s being singled out unfairly when it’s “a forum primarily for adults” that lacks the algorithmic feeds and friend networks that the government wanted to target.
It says California’s Digital Age Assurance Act was a better model. That law, which came into effect in October, requires operating system providers such as Apple and Google to collect a user’s age or birthdate when a device is set up, converting that information into an “age bracket signal”. This tells apps which age range a user falls into without sharing precise personal data.
Reddit has enlisted constitutional law specialist Perry Herzfeld, SC, and law firm Thomson Geer – the same firm that has repeatedly challenged eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant’s rulings on behalf of Elon Musk’s X.
A directions hearing is expected in February, with a final judgment not arriving potentially until late 2026.
The challenge comes as a separate High Court action backed by teen advocates also contests the legislation.
The federal government and eSafety Commissioner have been contacted for comment.
Communications Minister Anika Wells told parliament this week: “We will not yield to intimidation. We will not be deterred by legal disputes.”
Inman Grant had been expecting legal challenges to the ban. “We’ll see what happens,” she said of potential High Court action in an interview with this masthead this week.
“If the court makes a decision, we’ll abide by it. It may be that the Commonwealth wins. It may be that some changes need to be made to the policy. Who knows? I’m just going to move forward, given there hasn’t been any legal constraint placed on us.”
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
