High Court hearings begin on legal challenge to Australia's social media ban for children

Two days of hearings on a challenge to Australia's landmark social media ban for under-16s will begin at the country's highest court on Tuesday, in a major test of the world-leading policy.

A digital rights group, the Digital Freedom Project, will argue that the ban robs children of their right to free communication. A separate challenge launched by the platform Reddit will be heard jointly.

Introduced last December, the ban is a key part of sweeping changes the Australian government has spearheaded in recent years on online safety. Supporters say it protects children from harmful content, but critics say it is too blunt an instrument and that efforts should focus on improving online safety instead.

The constitutional challenge was filed by the Digital Freedom Project a few weeks before the ban started on 10 December last year. The group is led by New South Wales parliamentarian John Ruddick.

Two teenagers who originally spearheaded the case, Noah Jones and Macy Neyland, have since withdrawn as plaintiffs, although Jones is still expected to attend Tuesday's hearing.

Speaking about the legal challenge last November, Jones said there were bad things online but a blanket ban for under-16s was not the right answer. He said social media platforms should use their money and resources to get rid of predators and harmful content rather than to avoid government fines.

Reddit has also launched a High Court challenge to the ban, arguing the policy has serious implications for privacy and political rights.

Communications Minister Anika Wells said last year that the government would not be intimidated by legal threats or by big tech, adding: 'On behalf of Australian parents, we will stand firm.'

Under the ban, ten platforms — Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Reddit, Snapchat, X, Kick, Threads and Twitch — must take reasonable steps to ensure no one under 16 can access their sites. Platforms risk fines of up to A$99m (US$70m) for serious or repeated breaches, but since the ban started, no company has been fined.

The eSafety Commissioner, the body tasked with enforcing the ban, has launched several investigations into alleged non-compliance by Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube. WhatsApp and online gaming sites such as Roblox and Discord were not included, nor were educational platforms like YouTube Kids and Google Classroom.

In the first few days of the ban, Meta, which owns three of the banned platforms, said it had closed about half a million accounts. Some children said they were booted off their accounts, but many said they were able to easily circumvent the age checks, which included uploading credit card details, photo IDs or a selfie.