Australian teenagers ask High Court to block social media ban
Australian teenagers have filed a constitutional case in the High Court of Australia to try to stop a new nationwide ban on social media for under‑16s before it starts on 10 December 2025.
What the law does
Australia passed a law in November 2024 that requires major platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook and Instagram to block users under 16 and deactivate existing accounts held by them. Authorities expect more than one million teenage accounts to be shut down when the ban comes into force, and companies that do not comply could face very large financial penalties running into hundreds of millions of dollars.
Who is challenging it
The case has been brought by a campaign group called the Digital Freedom Project on behalf of two 15‑year‑olds, Noah Jones and Macy Neyland. Their lawsuit has been lodged directly in the High Court, which is Australia’s highest court and has power to invalidate federal laws that are unconstitutional.
Main legal arguments
The teenagers argue that the ban unlawfully restricts young people’s “implied freedom of political communication” under the Australian Constitution. Because Australia has no explicit free‑speech clause, most constitutional speech challenges rely on this implied freedom, which protects political communication necessary for the functioning of a representative democracy. The Digital Freedom Project says cutting under‑16s off from all major platforms is a disproportionate burden on that freedom and “robs” teenagers of participation in political debate and access to information.
Government’s justification
The federal government defends the law as a child‑protection measure grounded in research about harms from social media use among young teens. It points to evidence linking heavy platform use to cyberbullying, exposure to misinformation and damaging body‑image content, and says a bright‑line age ban is needed to safeguard children.
Wider implications
Technology companies and foreign governments are watching the case closely because this is one of the world’s first blanket under‑16 social media bans at national level. Australian media have reported that YouTube has also considered a separate High Court challenge on similar “political communication” grounds, suggesting more litigation could follow depending on how the court rules.
