Reddit files legal challenge to Australia social media ban

Reddit logo on the website displayed on a laptop screen. Reddit on Thursday filed to go public, nearly 20 years after its launch. (Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto/Getty Images)

Sydney, Australia — Tech company Reddit launched a legal challenge Friday to Australia’s social media ban on under-16s, just days after the landmark laws came into effect.

The court filings challenge the general validity of the ban and argue Reddit should be exempt from the government’s list of banned platforms because it is “not an age-restricted” app, and that the law “infringes the implied freedom of political communication”.

This week, Australia became the first country to ban under-age users from a raft of popular apps and websites -- Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and X among them.

Tech companies that fail to comply face Aus$49.5 million (US$33 million) fines if they do not purge Australia-based users younger than 16.

US-based Reddit said in a statement that it agreed with the importance of protecting young people, but that the law had the “unfortunate effect of forcing intrusive and potentially insecure verification processes on adults as well as minors”.

The company added the legislation could also isolate teenagers from engaging in “age-appropriate community experiences”, as well as “creating an illogical patchwork of which platforms are included and which aren’t”.

Reddit previously said it would comply with the Australian government’s legislation, but warned it was “legally erroneous”.

The case is separate from one filed by an internet rights group earlier last month, which is also seeking to overturn the laws on the grounds they are an “unfair” assault on freedom of speech.