Reddit and libertarian group challenge Australia’s under-16s social media ban in high court

Verified facts

1. Confirmed Reddit and the Digital Freedom Project seek to overturn Australia's under-16s social media ban in the High Court, with hearings on Tuesday and Wednesday.

   AI The ABC News and The Saturday Paper results both report that Reddit and the Digital Freedom Project are challenging the under-16s social media ban in the High Court, with the hearing on Tuesday. The snippets do not mention the Wednesday hearing, so that detail could not be checked.

   • abc.net.au High Court to consider whether under-16s social media ban is unconstitutional - ABC News supports
   • thesaturdaypaper.com.au Reddit to challenge under-16s social media ban | The Saturday Paper supports

2. Confirmed Ten platforms (Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, Kick, X, Twitch and Threads) were required to deactivate or suspend accounts of users they determined to be under 16.

   AI Multiple results list the same ten platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X, YouTube, Reddit, Kick and Twitch) and state that they must take reasonable steps to remove or block under-16 accounts, with the ABC7 report citing 4.7 million accounts deactivated or restricted. The results describe a 'reasonable steps' obligation rather than the exact wording 'deactivate or suspend accounts they determined to be under 16', but the core meaning matches.

   • bbc.com How does Australia's under-16 social media ban work? supports
   • aitimeline.in Social Media Age Ban 2026: Global Under-16 Rules supports
   • abc7.com Social media platforms removed 4.7 million accounts after Australia banned them for children - ABC7 Los Angeles supports
   • kidslox.com Australia’s Social Media Ban: What Parents Need to Know| Kidslox supports
   • en.wikipedia.org Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024 - Wikipedia supports

3. Confirmed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said more than 5 million accounts across the 10 services have been suspended under the ban.

   AI The Prime Minister's official media release says 'more than 5 million under-16s accounts removed, deactivated or restricted since the ban began', which supports the claimed figure and attribution. The results do not mention the '10 services' detail, and the release uses 'removed, deactivated or restricted' rather than 'suspended', though this is close in meaning. Other reports cite about 4.7 million accounts at an earlier point, which is a different timeframe rather than a contradiction.

   • pm.gov.au Stronger powers and double the penalties for world-leading social media law | Prime Minister of Australia supports

4. Confirmed The Digital Freedom Project is led by New South Wales state Libertarian MP John Ruddick.

   AI Multiple results state that the Digital Freedom Project is led by John Ruddick, a New South Wales Libertarian MP in the upper house (Legislative Council), which matches the claim's 'state Libertarian MP' description. The Wikipedia entry and the SMH article describe him as the group's president, consistent with 'led by'.

   • theconversation.com Two teens have launched a High Court challenge to the under-16s social media ban. Will it make a difference? supports
   • en.wikipedia.org John Ruddick - Wikipedia supports
   • bbc.com Australia social media ban: Teens challenge law before High Court supports
   • smh.com.au Teen social media ban: Campaign group calls on Musk, Google to fund High Court challenge supports

5. Confirmed Australia's eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, is using new powers passed by parliament this year to investigate whether TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook comply with the law.

   AI ABC News and Bloomberg both report that the eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, opened investigations in March into Facebook/Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube over compliance with the under-16 social media ban, which matches the core of the claim. The results do not explicitly say the investigative powers were passed by parliament 'this year'; TechTimes instead cites the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024, so that timing detail could not be confirmed.

   • abc.net.au Five social media platforms investigated over compliance with under-16 ban - ABC News supports
   • bloomberg.com Australia Set to Sue Facebook, TikTok in Child-Safety Push - Bloomberg supports

Could not verify

No independent source settled these either way. That doesn’t mean they are wrong.

1. Unverified Reddit's chief communications officer, Adam Collins, said in a statement to the Guardian that there are better, more effective ways than the social media minimum age to protect young people online.

   AI None of the search results mention Adam Collins, a Guardian statement, or Reddit saying there are better ways than a social media minimum age. The results only show that Reddit sued to overturn Australia's under-16 ban, which is related context but does not address the core of the claim.

2. Unverified The federal government challenges the Digital Freedom Project's standing to bring the case to the High Court, arguing the group has not identified any activity impeded by the ban.

   AI The search results confirm that the Digital Freedom Project filed a High Court challenge and describe the government's defence of the law as a 'modest burden on political communication' that is justified. None of the results mention a standing argument or claim that the group has not identified any activity impeded by the ban, so the core of the claim is not addressed.

3. Unverified In July, teenagers Noah Jones and Macey Nyland were withdrawn as the original lead plaintiffs in the case against the under-16s social media ban.

   AI None of the search results mention Noah Jones, Macey Nyland, the under-16s social media ban, or any lawsuit about it. The results are unrelated documents (a Senate record, a health authority staff list containing the surname 'Nyland', a dictionary and word lists), so the core of the claim cannot be checked.

Not checked

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• Companies could face fines of up to nearly $100m per breach if the regulator takes the case to the federal court.
• Luke Beck, a Monash University constitutional law professor, wrote in the Guardian last year that the cases were likely to fail.
• The federal opposition has raised concerns that the number of suspended accounts may be inflated, and the government has refused to release numbers broken down by platform.
• The federal parliament is debating digital duty of care legislation that would require platforms to take actions to prevent users experiencing harm.
• The government's submission argues the digital duty of care bill would "require the same action" as the social media ban legislation.

Author’s assumptions

Predictions or inferences in the article. They can’t be fact-checked.

• The social media ban is a legal and political test case that will determine whether the implied freedom of political communication is impermissibly burdened.