Reddit claims that the ban infringes the ‘implied freedom of political communication’.
Popular online forum Reddit has filed a lawsuit against the Australian government over the country’s social media ban for minors which came into force this Wednesday (10 December).
The landmark legislation, a part of the country’s Online Safety Act, marks the world’s first social media ban for under-16s as a measure to bolster child safety on the internet.
The ban affects Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, YouTube, Snapchat, Reddit, Kick, Twitch and TikTok.
In its lawsuit filed today (12 December), Reddit claimed that the ban infringes the “implied freedom of political communication” and should be “invalid”.
In a statement accompanying the filing, the platform claimed that the law “has the unfortunate effect of forcing intrusive and potentially insecure verification processes on adults as well as minors”.
It also said that the law is “inaccurately” applied to the platform. “We’re a forum primarily for adults and we don’t have the traditional social media features the government has taken issue with,” the statement on r/RedditSafety said.
Currently, Reddit is still complying with the regulation, which requires the designated platforms to employ measures such as age estimation through facial or voice recognition and government ID checks to ensure children no longer have access to the sites.
But sites such as Reddit and Twitch allow visitors to view content on the site without the need for an account – meaning minors can still access the sites, though they won’t be able to interact with other users.
Moreover, age estimation technology isn’t fool-proof, with many children passing the facial recognition tests. An Australian government-authorised report backs this up, after it found that the technology has a “margin of error”, meaning children could be wrongly estimated to be older than they are.
Meanwhile, other issues such as VPN usage, joint family accounts or fake accounts also persist.
“We believe there are more effective ways for the Australian government to accomplish our shared goal of protecting youth,” Reddit claimed.
A government spokesperson said that the “Albanese government is on the side of Australian parents and kids, not platforms”.
“We will stand firm to protect young Australians from experiencing harm on social media,” the statement added.
Earlier this month, two teenagers managed to secure a special hearing in the High Court of Australia to challenge the social media ban.
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