High Court to hear challenges to Australia's under-16s social media ban on Tuesday

Reddit and the Digital Freedom Project are challenging Australia's under-16s social media ban in the High Court, and the case is set to be heard on Tuesday. The Guardian describes it as the first major legal challenge to the law.

The ban stops children under 16 from holding accounts on social media. Associated Press reports that it is a world-first law. It was due to begin on 10 December last year, and as of 1 November 2026 it had been in effect for 11 months.

In the High Court case, Reddit, Inc. is the plaintiff, meaning the party bringing the case. The Commonwealth of Australia, the federal government, is the first defendant. The Minister for Communications is the second defendant.

The challenges argue that the ban prevents young people from taking part in political communication. Both lawsuits claim the law is unconstitutional because it infringes the implied freedom of political communication, a constitutional protection for discussing politics. The Digital Freedom Project's filing was lodged electronically in the High Court on 16 October 2026.

The Guardian reports that the two cases are expected to be heard together.

The government has said the ban would go ahead as scheduled despite the legal challenge, according to Associated Press. In November 2025 the government added Reddit and Kick, a video-streaming platform, to the list of services covered by the ban, as the Guardian reported.

Reddit has said it will comply with the ban. In a Guardian report, the company called the ban "legally erroneous" and "arbitrary" while saying it would follow the law.