Australia argues in court that social media ban is needed to protect children's brains

CANBERRA, Australia — Government lawyers told Australia’s highest court on Wednesday that a world-first ban on children younger than 16 from holding social media accounts was necessary to protect developing brains.

The Australian government is fighting in the High Court two constitutional challenges to the ban that took effect last year on young children holding accounts on Reddit, Facebook, Instagram, Kick, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X, YouTube and Twitch.

The challenges were brought by Reddit, a U.S. online forum, and Sydney-based rights group Digital Freedom Project.

Government lawyer Joanna Davidson on Wednesday continued to outline seven risks to children she argued were posed by social media platform design features.

The risks were addictive use, adverse sleep effects, depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, exacerbation of disordered eating, and intensification of ADHD symptoms, Davidson said.

The challengers argue the ban deprives young children of a right to freedom of political communication implied in Australia’s constitution.

The seven judges must decide whether the harm done by limiting children’s political engagement outweighs the harm done by social media platforms.

The two-day hearing began on Tuesday. The verdict will likely take months.

Government lawyer Stephen Lloyd told the judges on Wednesday the ban’s burden on the freedom of political communication was “indirect in nature and modest in extent.”

Reddit lawyer Perry Herzfeld argued the ban was “ill-targeted” and “over broad.” Herzfeld said Reddit should never have been included on the government’s list of 10 age-restricted platforms.

The ban puts the onus on the platforms to exclude young children. The targeted platforms face fines of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars ($34.5 million) if they fail to take reasonable steps to remove the accounts of young children.

Government data showed in July that 5 million Australian social media accounts had been closed since the ban came into force in December last year. Australia’s population is 28 million.

But the government has acknowledged that the ban has not been as effective as hoped.

Many young children have managed to slip through age verification technologies to open accounts. Platforms are not allowed to demand government identification documents due to privacy concerns.

The government announced in June it was considering strengthening laws behind the ban.