Reddit files suit against Australia's social media ban

New York: Global online forum Reddit on Friday launched a court challenge to an Australian law that bans children under 16 from having accounts on social media platforms.

The ban, the first of its kind in the world, came into effect on December 10.

Reddit is calling for a review by Australia’s High Court, arguing that as a discussion forum it should be exempt from the government's list of banned platforms.

What is Reddit's case?
In the court filing, Reddit is challenging the validity of the law that it said "infringes the implied freedom of political communication."

The company pointed to its platform's age rating of "17+" on the Apple App Store, saying verifying age at the app store level is better than requiring each platform to carry out checks.

Reddit said it agreed that children under the age of 16 should be protected. The US-based company argued that the law's "intrusive and potentially insecure verification processes" could isolate older teens and young adults "from the ability to engage in age-appropriate community experiences (including political discussions)."

"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," the platform said in a statement.

"Simply put, users under 16 are not a substantial market segment for Reddit and we don't intend them to be."

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's government declined to directly comment, but said it stood "on the side of Australian parents and kids, not platforms."

What is Australia's social media ban?
Australia asked Reddit, Facebook, Instagram, Kick, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X, YouTube, and Twitch to remove the accounts of Australian children under 16. If the platforms fail to comply, they face fines of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars ($32.9 million, €28.1 million). 

The authority enforcing the law, the eSafety Commission, sent notices to the 10 platforms on Thursday to ask how many  accounts of young children they had deactivated.

The commission had been expecting that some platforms might have been waiting to receive their first notice or fine before launching a legal challenge.

Since the law came into effect on Wednesday, other lesser-known platforms have seen a sharp spike in downloads as children search for alternatives.