Reddit sues Australia over teens’ social media ban

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Reddit has decided it’s not going quietly into Australia’s new internet rules era. 

Just days after the country flipped the switch on a landmark ban blocking teenagers from major social media platforms, the famously chaotic message-board site filed a lawsuit in Australia’s highest court. 

The argument? The law tramples on teenagers’ “freedom of political communication.” Yes, even the teens who technically can’t vote yet.

The law, which kicked in on Wednesday, is one of the boldest attempts yet to protect kids from the darker corners of the internet, think cyberbullying, eating disorder content, and self-harm rabbit holes. 

Under the policy, anyone under 16 is officially banned from holding accounts on ten major platforms, including TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube, and, awkwardly for this story, Reddit itself.

Platforms are now required to roll out age-verification tech and deactivate any accounts linked to users under 16. 

If they don’t take “reasonable steps” to comply, they could be fined up to 50 million Australian dollars, about $33 million USD, which is the kind of number that makes even Big Tech sit up straight.

In a twist that raised eyebrows across the internet, services like Roblox and AI chatbots were excluded from the initial ban, despite their own long-running safety controversies. 

The government says more platforms could be added later, suggesting this list may grow like an ominous software update.

Reddit’s lawsuit argues the ban barely reduces harm, since most Reddit content is publicly viewable without an account anyway. 

Blocking teens from posting and commenting, the company says, mainly shuts them out of political discussion, something it finds especially ironic given they’re already too young to vote.

Two Australian teenagers have filed a separate legal challenge echoing those concerns, turning this into a rare case of teens, Reddit, and constitutional law all landing in the same thread.

The case could ripple far beyond Australia. Countries like Denmark and Malaysia are considering similar bans.

At the same time, places like the UK and several US states have opted for lighter age checks, often defeated by VPNs and gamer ingenuity.

For now, Anthony Albanese’s government isn’t saying much. “We will stand firm,” it told ABC News, noting the issue is before the courts. Australia has logged off from the debate, for now.