Reddit launches legal challenge against Australia's social media ban for under-16s

American online forum Reddit has filed a lawsuit in the High Court, challenging Australia's world-first law, which prohibits Australian children under the age of 16 from having accounts on the world's most popular social media platforms, ABC News reported.

Reddit is one of the restricted platforms for children under 16 in Australia, along with Facebook, Instagram, Kick, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, Twitch, X, and YouTube, as listed by the Australian eSafety Commissioner.

Reddit's High Court suit follows a case filed last month by the Digital Freedom Project, a rights group based in Sydney. Both lawsuits claim the law is unconstitutional because it violates Australia's implied freedom of political communication, the ABC report said.

“While we agree with the importance of protecting people under 16, this law has the unfortunate effect of forcing intrusive and potentially insecure verification processes on adults as well as minors, isolating teens from the ability to engage in age-appropriate community experiences (including political discussions), and creating an illogical patchwork of which platforms are included and which aren’t,” Reddit said in a statement on Friday.

The ban was implemented on Tuesday, with authorities ordering social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok, YouTube, and Snapchat to block children or face fines of up to $33 million.

The ban excludes messaging services like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. Discord, GitHub, Google Classroom, LEGO Play, Pinterest, Steam, Steam Chat, and YouTube Kids are all excluded.

According to documents filed with the court registry, Reddit will petition the seven High Court judges to declare the law invalid. Alternatively, the company wants the court to prevent the government from including Reddit on the list of age-restricted platforms, according to the media outlet, with a preliminary hearing scheduled for late February.

‘Protecting’ young Australians

From December 10, Australian law requires major social media platforms to take “reasonable steps” to prevent users under the age of 16 from having accounts.

The government says the aim is not to punish young people, but to protect them from features that encourage excessive screen time, manipulative design, and exposure to harmful content — giving them more time to develop emotional and digital resilience.

Australia’s eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said the list of age-restricted platforms would evolve with new technologies.

Inman Grant said she would work with academics to evaluate the impacts of the ban, including whether children sleep or interact more or become more physically active.

Officials say platforms have failed to adequately shield minors from violent material, harassment and addictive design features.

Supporters of the ban argue that stricter age limits are necessary to curb risks to children’s wellbeing, even as critics warn of unintended consequences for creators and the broader digital economy.