Reddit challenges Australia’s social media ban for under 16s

Social media platform Reddit on Friday launched a legal challenge against Australia’s social media ban for under 16s.

Under the law, which took effect on Wednesday, people under the age of 16 are no longer allowed to have their own accounts on 10 major social media platforms including Reddit, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook and YouTube.

In a High Court filing, Reddit argued the ban infringed on free political speech and posed privacy risks.

In a post on the platform, Reddit said it took youth safety online seriously and the court action was not an attempt to avoid compliance.

“That said, we believe there are more effective ways for the Australian government to accomplish our shared goal of protecting youth.”

The new law had “the unfortunate effect of forcing intrusive and potentially insecure verification processes on adults as well as minors,” the company said.

It would isolate teens from being able to engage in age-appropriate community experiences and create “an illogical patchwork of which platforms are included and which aren’t,” Reddit added.

The law was applied to Reddit inaccurately, the company said.

“Unlike other platforms included under this law, the vast majority of Redditors are adults, we don’t market or target advertising to children under 18, and had an age rating of ’17+’ in the Apple App Store prior to the law.”

Reddit said there were more targeted, “privacy-preserving measures” to protect young people online without resorting to blanket bans.

Australia’s Health Minister Mark Butler accused Reddit of putting profit over safety.

“Across our history, when our governments have taken strong action to protect citizens against highly addictive, highly damaging products, they’ve usually been challenged in the courts by the companies that profit most from them,” he said.

“But the idea that this is some action by Reddit to protect the political freedoms of young people is a complete crock.”

The government would “fight this action every step of the way,” Butler said.

“It’s action we saw time and time again by Big Tobacco against tobacco control, and we’re seeing it now by some social media or big tech giants taken against these world leading social media reforms that are going to do so much to improve the social skills, the learning skills, and, importantly, the mental health of young Australians.”

Butler said other governments and communities around the world were watching Australia as the first country in the world to impose such a ban.

“They want it to be a success, and if it is a success, I’m very confident they’ll follow seat and take the same sorts of actions to protect their young citizens as well.”

The regulation, passed with the support of almost all major parties in parliament at the end of 2024, aims to protect young people from risks such as cyberbullying, problematic consumption and distressing content.

Affected companies were given a year to introduce age verification measures, and violations will result in hefty fines of up to $49.5 million Australian ($33 million).

Messaging services such as WhatsApp, email, online games and educational offerings are exempt.

Numerous teenagers reported that their accounts were still active after the law came into force, or that they had managed to circumvent the regulation on its first day.