Reddit sues Australia over under-16 social media ban

Reddit is suing the Australian government over its newly enacted social media ban, which prevents children aged 16 and younger from accessing most social media platforms.

Reddit argued that the ban impinges on the right to free political discourse implied by the country's constitution, according to a Reuters report. In essence, blocking the youths from Reddit would block their freedom of speech, the company said. Reddit also argued that it was not, primarily speaking, a social media site, but rather a place for exchanging information and ideas.

"Reddit enables online interactions about the content that users post on the site. It facilitates knowledge sharing from one user to other users," the filing reads, via the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

The filing added:

"It is not a significant purpose of the site to enable interactions engaged in because of a particular user's relationship with or interest in another user as a person; indeed, in most cases, the identity of a user on Reddit is not even known to other users."

The social media ban went into effect on Wednesday, pulling children's access to sites like TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, Reddit, and more. Most platforms complied with the ban by blocking access to any account with a user 16 and under — though, of course, that's a relatively easy barrier to dodge for tech-savvy young people. But it would, perhaps, keep kids from unfettered access to algorithmic suggestions.

"Delaying children's access to social media accounts gives them valuable time to learn and grow, free of the powerful, unseen forces of harmful and deceptive design features such as opaque algorithms and endless scroll," said Australia's eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant in a statement last month.