Online forum platform Reddit launched a legal challenge against Australia's social media ban for under 16s. The Australian government said it will stand firm to protect its citizens.
00:00American online forum platform Reddit launched a legal challenge against Australia's social media ban for the under-16s.
00:08In a high court filing, Reddit argued the ban infringed on free political speech and posed privacy risk.
00:15However, the Australian government will stand firm to protect its citizens following the lawsuit.
00:21Reddit said it took youth safety online seriously and the court action was not an attempt to avoid compliance.
00:28It also argued the law was applied to Reddit inaccurately, as unlike other platforms included under the law, the company claimed the vast majority of users are adults.
00:38Reddit said they were more targeted privacy-preserving measures to protect young people online without resorting to blanket bans.
00:46Under the law which took effect on Wednesday, people under the age of 16 are no longer allowed to have their own accounts on 10 major social media platforms,
00:54including Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook and YouTube.
00:59Effective companies were given a year to introduce age verification measures.
01:03Violations will result in hefty fines of up to AU$49.5 million.
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