Australia social media teen ban a 'modest' step, says government in top court challenge

FILE PHOTO: Three boys use their phones while sitting outside a school in Sydney, Dec. 8, 2025. Nearly a year since Australia banned large social media platforms from allowing under-16s to hold accounts, messaging platform Reddit and a libertarian advocacy group have sought to invalidate the law on grounds that it violates constitutionally protected speech. - AP

CANBERRA, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Australia's world-first teen social media ban was a modest, non-partisan and justified curb on political expression, a lawyer for the government told the High Court of Australia on Wednesday (Nov 3), rejecting a legal challenge by Reddit.

Nearly a year since Australia banned large social media platforms from allowing under-16s to hold accounts, messaging platform Reddit and a libertarian advocacy group have sought to invalidate the law on grounds that it violates constitutionally protected speech.

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资料照片：2025年12月8日，三名男孩坐在悉尼一所学校外使用手机。澳大利亚禁止大型社交媒体平台允许16岁以下用户注册账户已近一年，即时通讯平台Reddit和一个自由主义倡导组织试图推翻这项法律，理由是该法律侵犯了受宪法保护的言论自由。——美联社

堪培拉，11 月 4 日（路透社）——澳大利亚政府律师周三（11 月 3 日）在澳大利亚高等法院表示，澳大利亚首创的青少年社交媒体禁令是对政治表达的温和、非党派且合理的限制，驳回了 Reddit 提出的法律挑战。

澳大利亚禁止大型社交媒体平台允许 16 岁以下用户注册账户已近一年，即时通讯平台 Reddit 和一个自由主义倡导组织试图推翻该法律，理由是该法律侵犯了受宪法保护的言论自由。

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高等法院审理推翻澳大利亚社交媒体禁令的诉讼。

澳大利亚央行以微弱多数票将利率上调至18年来的最高水平。

由于通胀持续，澳大利亚或将第五次加息。