Reddit sues Australia over under-16 ban on social media – Silicon Republic

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
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