Canberra (Australia), Dec. 12 (LaPresse) – The global online forum Reddit has filed an appeal against the Australian law, the first in the world, that prohibits anyone under 16 from having an account on the world’s most popular social media platforms. The lawsuit, filed by Reddit Inc., based in California, in the High Court, follows a case submitted last month by the Sydney-based Digital Freedom Project rights group. Both cases argue that the law is unconstitutional because it violates Australia’s implied freedom of political communication. “We believe there are more effective ways for the Australian government to achieve our shared goal of protecting young people, and the SMMA (Social Media Minimum Age) law raises serious privacy and political expression issues for all Internet users,” Reddit said in a statement, adding: “While agreeing on the importance of protecting under-16s, this law has the negative effect of imposing invasive and potentially unsafe verification procedures on both adults and minors, isolating teenagers from age-appropriate community experiences (including political discussions), and creating an illogical patchwork of included and excluded platforms.” Reddit, Facebook, Instagram, Kick, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X, YouTube, and Twitch face fines of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars (28 million euros) from Dec. 10 if they do not take reasonable measures to remove accounts of Australian children under 16. Despite the court challenge, Reddit has stated that it will comply with the law.
Australia, Reddit appeals against social media ban for under-16s
Canberra (Australia), Dec. 12 (LaPresse) – The global online forum Reddit has filed an appeal against the Australian law, the first in the world, that prohibits anyone under 16 from having an account on the world’s most popular social media platforms. The lawsuit, filed by Reddit Inc., based in California, in the High Court, follows a case submitted last month by the Sydney-based Digital Freedom Project rights group. Both cases argue that the law is unconstitutional because it violates Australia’s implied freedom of political communication. “We believe there are more effective ways for the Australian government to achieve our shared goal of protecting young people, and the SMMA (Social Media Minimum Age) law raises serious privacy and political expression issues for all Internet users,” Reddit said in a statement, adding: “While agreeing on the importance of protecting under-16s, this law has the negative effect of imposing invasive and potentially unsafe verification procedures on both adults and minors, isolating teenagers from age-appropriate community experiences (including political discussions), and creating an illogical patchwork of included and excluded platforms.” Reddit, Facebook, Instagram, Kick, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X, YouTube, and Twitch face fines of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars (28 million euros) from Dec. 10 if they do not take reasonable measures to remove accounts of Australian children under 16. Despite the court challenge, Reddit has stated that it will comply with the law.
