Australian Court Hears Challenge to Social Media Ban

Asia Pacific

Asia Pacific|Australian Court Hears Challenge to Social Media Ban

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/11/03/world/asia/australia-social-media-ban-high-court.html

Australian Court Hears Challenge to Social Media Ban

Reddit and an Australian digital advocacy group are claiming a law that restricts children younger than 16 from popular platforms infringes on their constitutional rights.

*Australian schoolchildren under the age of 16 are barred from using popular social media platforms.Credit...William West/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images*

By Victoria Kim

Nov. 3, 2026, 4:24 a.m. ET

The High Court of Australia began hearing arguments on Tuesday in two legal challenges to a law barring people younger than 16 from social media, in cases that may determine the fate of a ban that was closely watched and replicated around the world.

Over two days, the court will consider cases brought by an Australian digital rights advocacy group and the U.S.-based discussion platform Reddit. Both plaintiffs contend that the law infringes on young people’s right to political participation by restricting free speech and access to information.

The law, which took effect in December, was hailed as a world-first attempt to counter the harms of algorithm-driven social media content on developing brains. There were early indications that a majority of Australian teenagers who had been using social media before the ban have continued to access it; but a growing list of countries have nevertheless passed similar measures.

Reddit is one of 10 companies covered by the Australian law, which also requires that Facebook, Instagram, Kick, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, Twitch, X and YouTube install age restrictions.

In the court cases, the Digital Freedom Project and Reddit argued that the law was unconstitutional because it violated the implied political rights of 13- to 15-year-olds. The Digital Freedom Project, headed by a libertarian state legislator, sued to block the law shortly before it took effect, while Reddit filed its challenge two days after it came into force. The cases are being jointly heard by the court in Canberra.

In its filings, lawyers for the Digital Freedom Project said that social media platforms provide “fora for political communication.” Young Australians would receive information, express views, engage in discussions, pose questions to elected officials and organize political action through social media, they argued.

Victoria Kim is the Australia correspondent for The New York Times, based in Sydney, covering Australia, New Zealand and the broader Pacific region.