Reddit challenges Australia’s world-first law banning children under 16 from social media

Reddit Challenges Australia’s Social Media Age Restriction Law in Court

Global online forum Reddit filed a legal challenge in Australia’s High Court on Friday against the country’s pioneering law that prohibits children under 16 from maintaining accounts on popular social media platforms.

The California-based company follows Sydney’s Digital Freedom Project, which lodged a similar case last month. Both argue that the Social Media Minimum Age (SMMA) law violates Australia’s constitutional protection of implied freedom of political communication.

“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,” Reddit stated. The company further criticized the legislation for “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.”

The Albanese government declined to address the specifics of Reddit’s challenge, instead stating they stand “on the side of Australian parents and kids, not platforms” and will “protect young Australians from experiencing harm on social media.”

Under the new law, which took effect Wednesday, major platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X, YouTube and Twitch face potential fines of up to AU$49.5 million (US$32.9 million) if they fail to take reasonable measures to remove accounts belonging to Australian children under 16.

Australia’s eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant, tasked with enforcing the legislation, sent compulsory information notices to all ten age-restricted platforms on Thursday. These notices demand data on how many underage accounts have been deactivated since implementation. Inman Grant had previously anticipated that some platforms might wait until receiving their first notice or fine before mounting legal challenges.

Despite initiating legal proceedings, Reddit confirmed it would comply with the law while continuing to engage with eSafety officials. The platform will be subject to monitoring through six-monthly notices designed to assess compliance effectiveness.

The restrictions have triggered a noticeable shift in Australian children’s online behavior. Data from intelligence platform Apptopia reveals a 251% increase in downloads of Yope, an app for sharing photos within friend groups, since Monday. Similarly, Lemon8 – a photo and video sharing app from ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company – saw downloads jump by 88%.

In response, eSafety has contacted smaller platforms like Yope and Lemon8, requesting they self-assess whether they meet the definition of an age-restricted platform, which would subject them to the same restrictions and potential penalties.

Experts compare policing age restrictions in the rapidly evolving social media landscape to a game of “Whack-a-Mole.” However, government authorities believe a more fragmented social media ecosystem would be less appealing to young users who fear social exclusion and missing out on peer interactions.

The major platforms have several options for verifying ages, including requesting identification documents, using third-party facial analysis technology, or making inferences from existing user data. The Australian government has not prescribed specific verification methods but indicated that requiring all users to verify their ages would be unnecessarily intrusive, given that tech companies already possess sufficient personal data for this purpose.

For privacy reasons, platforms cannot compel users to provide government-issued identification.

Court documents show Reddit is asking the High Court to rule the law invalid, or alternatively, to prevent the government from designating Reddit as an age-restricted platform.

The High Court has scheduled a preliminary hearing in late February to set a date for the Digital Freedom Project’s challenge on behalf of two 15-year-olds. It remains unclear whether the two cases will be consolidated for a joint hearing.