CANBERRA — Australia's world-first ban on social media accounts for children under 16 faced its first legal challenge on Tuesday, as a lawyer for Reddit told the High Court in Canberra that the law was "ill thought out" and "inept" and amounted to a "profound restriction on political debate", Reuters reported.

Source: Reuters

The two-day hearing, before all seven justices of the High Court, is the first major legal test of the ban. Reddit and the Digital Freedom Project, a libertarian advocacy group, are asking the court to overturn the law, arguing that it impermissibly burdens the implied freedom of political communication in Australian law, The Guardian reported.

Source: The Guardian

10Platforms covered by the ban, including TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Reddit and X
5 million+Accounts suspended or deactivated since the ban began, according to the eSafety Commissioner
A$99 millionMaximum fine for platforms that do not comply, doubled by the government
Under 16Age below which Australians cannot hold accounts on the covered platforms

What Reddit argued in court

Perry Herzfeld, appearing for Reddit, said barring under-16s from holding accounts stopped them from creating or responding to content on what he called the most important means of communication in the modern world. "That is a very profound restriction on political debate in Australia," Herzfeld told the court, Reuters reported.

Source: Reuters

Herzfeld said Reddit agreed with the government's harm-minimisation aim but that the law failed to achieve it: it does not call for any specific measure to keep out minors, and it does not restrict other online services, such as gaming websites, where cyberbullying takes place, Reuters reported. He also rejected Reddit's inclusion in the ban, arguing the forum-based platform differs from the others, Australian Associated Press reported. AFP reported that Reddit argued registered accounts are governed by in-built safety features, so pushing teenagers off accounts could be more dangerous, and that there was little research on whether certain platforms are safer than others.

Source: AAP / AFP

The second challenge, and the teenagers who stepped back

The Digital Freedom Project, led by New South Wales state Libertarian MP John Ruddick, has adopted many of the same arguments as Reddit, The Guardian reported. Two teenagers were originally the group's lead plaintiffs, but both were withdrawn in July amid concerns they could face legal costs if the case failed. Speaking outside the court, a young founding member of the project said young people should be able to participate online, not just watch from the sidelines, AAP reported.

Source: The Guardian / AAP

Why the world is watching this case

A successful challenge could encourage more opposition from affected companies and slow the global uptake of similar policies, as lawmakers from Britain to Malaysia roll out comparable measures to protect young people's mental and physical health, Reuters reported. Studies, including by the Australian regulator the eSafety Commissioner, have found that most of the country's teenagers under the cutoff age continue to use social media despite the ban, Reuters reported.

Source: Reuters

The Australian government and its communications minister, who are named defendants, have said they will defend the law, Reuters reported. Since the ban went live, the government has doubled the maximum fine for non-compliance to A$99 million (about US$69.5 million — yaani roughly A$9.9 crore in Indian numbering), given the eSafety Commissioner greater discovery powers, and said it is preparing an enforcement lawsuit against some of the biggest platforms.

Source: Reuters

Why it matters for Punjabi and Indian families abroad

Australia, Canada and Britain — all home to large Punjabi and Indian diaspora communities — are debating how far governments can go in keeping children off social media. What the High Court decides will shape those debates, and rules like these decide whether diaspora teenagers can hold accounts on the platforms families use to stay in touch across continents.

What happens next

The hearing continues on Wednesday. It is not clear how long the court will take to decide; even the quickest High Court decisions typically take months, AFP reported. The ban stays in force in the meantime. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said more than five million accounts across the ten services have been suspended under the scheme, though the federal opposition has raised concerns that the total may be inflated, The Guardian reported.

Source: AFP / The Guardian