Reddit, the popular community-focused forum, has launched a legal challenge against Australia's social media ban for teens under 16, arguing that the newly enacted law is ineffective and goes too far by restricting political discussion online.
In its application to Australia's High Court, the social news and aggregation platform said the law is "invalid on the basis of the implied freedom of political communication", saying that it burdens political communication.
Canberra's ban came into effect on Wednesday and targeted 10 major services, including Alphabet's YouTube, Meta's Instagram, ByteDance's TikTok, Reddit, Snapchat and Elon Musk's X. All targeted platforms had agreed to comply with the policy to varying degrees.
Australia's Prime Minister's office, Attorney-General's Department and other social media platforms did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
Under the law, the targeted platforms will have to take "reasonable steps" to prevent underage access, using age-verification methods such as inference from online activity, facial estimation via selfies, uploaded IDs, or linked bank details.
Reddit's application to the courts seeks to either declare the law invalid or exclude the platform from the provisions of the law.
In a statement to CNBC, Reddit said that while it agrees with the importance of protecting persons under 16, the law could isolate teens "from the ability to engage in age-appropriate community experiences (including political discussions)."
It also said in its application that the law "burdens political communication," saying "the political views of children inform the electoral choices of many current electors, including their parents and their teachers, as well as others interested in the views of those soon to reach the age of maturity."
The platform also argued that it should not be subject to the law, saying it operates more as a forum for adults facilitating "knowledge sharing" between users than as a traditional social network, saying that it does not import contact lists or address books.
"Reddit is significantly different from other sites that allow for users to become "friends" with one another, or to post photos about themselves, or to organise events," the platform said in its application.
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