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Reddit and a digital rights group tell Australia's High Court that the country's social media ban for under-16s is unconstitutional

Noah Jones, a 16-year-old outside the scope of the ban, told reporters the law is "a stepping stone further and further to censorship" disguised as child safety.
Noah Jones, a 16-year-old outside the scope of the ban, told reporters the law is "a stepping stone further and further to censorship" disguised as child safety.

Australia's High Court is two days into a constitutional battle that could strike down the world's first under-16 social media ban, with seven judges weighing whether the law unlawfully suppresses young people's right to political communication. Reddit argues it was wrongly lumped in with platforms like TikTok and Instagram, while the Digital Freedom Project — a libertarian-backed advocacy group — claims the law censors a generation of future voters.

The ban, which came into force in December, blocks under-16s from Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube, Snapchat and seven other platforms.

Former plaintiff Noah Jones, now 16, told reporters outside court: 'They've masked it as child safety — it's really just them trying to control what young people see.'

Early evidence suggests most Australian teens who used social media before the ban have continued to access it regardless.

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