Australia Defends Under-16 Social Media Ban in High Court
At a Glance
Australia's government defended its ban on social media accounts for children under 16 before the High Court.
Reddit and a rights group are challenging the law on constitutional grounds.
A verdict is expected to take months.
Government lawyers told Australia's highest court on Wednesday that the world-first ban on children under 16 holding social media accounts is necessary to protect developing brains.
Key Statements and Focus Area
Government on the Burden: The ban's burden on the freedom of political communication is "indirect in nature and modest in extent." — Stephen Lloyd, Government lawyer.
Reddit's Challenge: The ban is "ill-targeted" and "over broad," and Reddit should never have been included on the list of age-restricted platforms. — Perry Herzfeld, Reddit lawyer.
Focus Area: The High Court challenge to Australia's under-16 social media ban and whether limiting children's political communication outweighs the harm caused by the platforms.
Two constitutional challenges, brought by Reddit and the Sydney-based rights group Digital Freedom Project, are being heard over two days, which began Tuesday.
The challengers argue the ban violates an implied constitutional right to freedom of political communication. The seven judges must weigh whether the harm of restricting children's political engagement outweighs the harm done by the platforms.
Government lawyer Joanna Davidson outlined seven risks she said stem from platform design features: addictive use, adverse sleep effects, depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, worsened disordered eating, and intensified ADHD symptoms.
The ban took effect in December last year and covers Reddit, Facebook, Instagram, Kick, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X, YouTube and Twitch. It places the onus on platforms, which face fines of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars ($34.5 million) if they fail to take reasonable steps to remove young children's accounts.
Government data showed in July that 5 million accounts had been closed, in a country of 28 million people.
However, the government has acknowledged the ban has been less effective than hoped, as many children have slipped through age verification technologies and platforms are barred from demanding government ID over privacy concerns. In June, it said it was considering strengthening the laws behind the ban.
FYI
Australia's ban is the first of its kind in the world and is being closely watched by other countries weighing similar limits on children's social media use.
The implied freedom of political communication is not an explicit right in Australia's Constitution but has been recognized by the High Court as a limit on government power.
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