In a move worthy of a post on the Not Like The Other Girls subreddit, Reddit, one of the world's largest social platforms, is arguing that it isn't like other, actual social media sites, as the company seeks to overturn Australia's law banning children under 16 years of age from social media. In a lawsuit filed with Australia's top court, Reddit argues the law, which came into force on December 10, limits free political discourse by preventing children from airing their views online, and should be overturned. Reddit is essentially asking the Australian High Court to address some of the questions raised about the legislation, which requires 10 major services to deactivate under-16s' accounts and prevent them from using the app. Critics argue that the law infringes on children's rights, and companies have sought to raise questions about what 'social media' even defines. Indeed, calling itself a 'collection of public fora arranged by subject,' Reddit brought up definitions of the word 'social' in its filing to make the case that 'it is not the sole or a significant purpose of Reddit to enable persons to interact 'in a social manner'.'...

This week, Australia became the first country to ban children aged under 16 from using most social media platforms. Many teenagers in the country are furious about the policy, but for social scientists, it offers a natural experiment to study the effects of social media restrictions on young people. Technology companies have had a year to come up with ways to stop teens using their platforms, including Facebook, X, Reddit, YouTube, Threads and Snapchat. From 10 December, companies must take reasonable steps to prevent Australian's under 16 from creating or keeping accounts, or risk fines of up to Aus$49.5million (US$33 million). Other countries including France, Denmark and Spain have introduced social media restrictions for young people, or announced plans to, but no policy is as far reaching as Australia's. The government there says social media is harming young people's mental health, causing teens to lose sleep because of addictive design features, and exposing them to harmful content. Researchers say the evidence that social media causes harm is mixed. In some cases, young people's access to their peers online is a vital support system, particularly those in minority groups and those living in remote areas....

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said she has been studying Australia's restrictions and how they address what she described as 'algorithms that prey on children's vulnerabilities', leaving parents feeling powerless against 'the tsunami of big tech flooding their homes'. In October, New Zealand announced it would introduce similar legislation to Australia's, following the work of a parliamentary committee to examine how best to address harm on social media platforms. The committee's report will be released in early 2026. Pakistan and India are aiming to reduce children's exposure to harmful content by introducing rules requiring parental consent and age verification for platform access, alongside content moderation expectations for tech companies. Malaysia has announced it will ban children under 16 from social media starting in 2026. This follows the country requiring social media and messaging platforms with eight million or more users to obtain licenses to operate, and use age verification and content-safety measures from January 2025....

Australia is actually doing this. As of December 10, no one under 16 will be allowed to have an account on TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, Instagram, or basically any other platform an average teen might care about. Other countries have attempted partial restrictions, but Australia's Online Safety Amendment is the first real ban, and it comes with heavy fines for social-media companies that fail to comply. 'Social media was a big social experiment,' says Julie Inman Grant, Australia's eSafety commissioner, who is in charge of enforcing the law. 'In some ways, this is an antidote social experiment.' The inspiration came from Annabel West, who is married to Peter Malinauskas, South Australia's premier (roughly the equivalent of a governor). Last year, she read The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness, a best seller by Jonathan Haidt, arguing that among teens, a spike in anxiety, depression, self-harm, and eating disorders coincided with the wide distribution of cellphones. Australia has a history of sudden, sweeping social reforms. In 1996, shortly after the Port Arthur massacre, in Tasmania, the country introduced dramatic restrictions on firearms. Malinauskas drafted the social-media legislation for South Australia, and within a year, the Online Safety Amendment passed as national law....