Reddit and the Digital Freedom Project argue before the High Court on 3–4 November that the world-first ban on social media accounts for under-16s unlawfully burdens political communication; the government defends it as a child-safety measure.
Australia's High Court began two days of hearings on Tuesday, 3 November, in the first major legal test of the country's under-16 social media ban. Two challenges are being heard together: one brought by the Digital Freedom Project, an advocacy group led by New South Wales Libertarian MP John Ruddick, and a separate one from Reddit. The ban took effect on 10 December 2025 and requires ten platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat, X, Reddit, Kick, Threads and Twitch, to take reasonable steps to keep users under 16 off their services. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said more than five million accounts across those services have been suspended.
The challengers argue that the law burdens the implied freedom of political communication, which Australian courts have read into the constitution because the country has no general guaranteed right to free speech. Reddit says its platform is a common source of news and political information and that teenagers are shut out of commenting on politics or following political party youth wings, although it says it is complying with the law while it litigates. The government replies that the measure targets harmful features such as algorithms, infinite scroll, persistent notifications and likes, and it is also contesting whether the Digital Freedom Project has standing, noting that the two teenage plaintiffs originally named in the case withdrew in July.
Legal experts are split on the outcome. Constitutional law professor Anne Twomey has suggested Reddit could succeed if the court finds a mismatch between the law's purpose and its practical effect, while Monash University's Luke Beck has argued the challenges are likely to fail and that standing will be a hurdle for the advocacy group. Outside the courtroom, enforcement remains unsettled: the eSafety Commissioner is investigating whether TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook are complying, with fines of up to about A$99 million per serious or repeated breach, and no company has yet been fined. Critics note that many teenagers have circumvented age checks, and the government has not released account-suspension figures broken down by platform. A High Court ruling is not expected immediately after the hearings.
