Key facts
- Australia's social media ban for minors is being challenged in the High Court.
- NetChoice argues the ban infringes on political communication for young people.
- The ban has resulted in the suspension of 1 million accounts.
- NetChoice cites US legal precedents where similar bans were halted or invalidated.
- France's Constitutional Council previously invalidated a similar age ban.
Australia's stringent social media ban for minors is facing a legal challenge from US tech industry groups, who argue it violates fundamental communication rights. The ban, described by NetChoice as "the most extensive prohibition on youth access to social media in force in any liberal democracy," has led to the suspension of 1 million accounts. NetChoice, representing various tech companies, has urged Australia's High Court to invalidate the law, drawing parallels to legal actions in US states like California, Florida, Georgia, and Ohio, where similar age-based restrictions have been halted by injunctions. The group contends that legislative responses have outpaced empirical evidence regarding the feared effects of social media on young people's mental health. International precedents, such as France's Constitutional Council invalidating a similar ban for not being sufficiently tailored, are being cited. The argument also invokes a 2011 US Supreme Court ruling that struck down a ban on violent video games, with then-Justice Antonin Scalia writing that evidence of harm was based on correlation, not causation. NetChoice further argues that while teenagers cannot vote, the ban burdens political communication, referencing US cases that emphasize young people's need for access to information to become informed citizens and voice concerns on issues affecting them.