Newscasts - Reddit sues to overturn Australian social media ban

Reddit

12/12/2025 07:29

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Source: 'Reuters - General news videos'

Description: Message board website Reddit filed a lawsuit on Friday (December 12) asking Australia's High Court to overturn the country's social media ban for people under 16 as well as its inclusion in it, calling the law an infringement of free political expression. Vanesse Chan reports.

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Video Transcript:

Reddit filed a lawsuit on Friday against Australia’s newly imposed social media ban. The US message board company is asking Australia’s High Court to overturn the ban for people under 16, as well as its inclusion in it. Reddit called the ban “invalid” on the ground that it infringes the implied freedom of political communication. Australia’s government has previously said it is ready to fight any legal challenges to the law. It became the first country to ban social media for children under 16 on December 10. 10 platforms campaigned against the measure for more than a year before ultimately saying they would comply. That includes Reddit, Meta's Instagram, Alphabet’s YouTube, and TikTok. The platforms required to bar underage users will face a fine of up to almost $33 million. While underage users and their caregivers do not face punishment. However, Reddit said the ban carries some serious privacy issues and would also hinder political discourse in the country. Its court filing reads, “Australian citizens under the age of 16 will, within years if not months, become electors. The choices to be made by those citizens will be informed by political communication in which they engage prior to the age of 18.” The lawsuit marks a second High Court challenge to the ban. Last month, two teenagers backed by an Australian libertarian state lawmaker filed a challenge to the law.