Name: Australian teen challenges under-16 social media ban
Uploaded: 2025-12-02T08:51:53.089Z
Duration: 2 min 21 s
Description: A teenager suing the Australian government to overturn a ban on social media for under-16s says the measure would make the internet more dangerous for young people and be widely circumvented.

A teenager suing the Australian government to overturn a ban on social media for under-16s says the measure would make the internet more dangerous for young people and be widely circumvented.

Council of the City of Sydney

A 15-year-old student, Noah Jones, has become a co-plaintiff in a High Court case challenging Australia's new law banning social media use for those under 16. The law, scheduled to take effect on December 10, seeks to prevent minors from accessing platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Snapchat, citing protection from harmful content and online predators as the rationale.

Jones and another student, supported by the Digital Freedom Project, argue that the ban isolates teenagers, infringes on their constitutional rights, and could lead to riskier online behavior. The lawsuit calls for targeted measures against cyberbullying and predatory behavior instead of a blanket ban. The case has not yet been scheduled for hearing, and government officials have stated they will stand by the law.

Australian teen challenges under-16 social media ban

Noah Jones sits in a Sydney bedroom scrolling Instagram, and just over a week, this could be a thing of the best for the 15-year-old student, as Australia's under-16 social media ban comes into effect on December 10. But Jones has other plans. He is a co-plaintiff in a High Court case against Communications Minister Annika Wells and E-Safety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant. Jones argues that the proposed ban isolates teens and infringes on their rights, effectively silencing their voices. I believe that as a young Australian, we as a whole will have our constitutional right taken away from us, and we will also be invisible with this ban. We won't be able to share our views or opinions, and we won't be able to hear others' views and opinions, political or just about anything. Instead of cutting kids off from social media, because we're not the problem, we should be cutting off the bad things about social media, the online bullies, the predators and the explicit content. The law aims to block minors from platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Snapchat. The government says the ban will protect children from harmful content and online predators. But Jones said that many under-16s, including himself, are likely to find ways around the ban. He said this pushes them into riskier behaviour. I feel that it actually puts kids in a more dangerous situation, because when kids do things in secret, that's when things can be really harmful. Say they experience online bullying or they experience predators, how are they going to report that to police or parents, because they weren't supposed to be on the social media platforms in the first place. The lawsuit includes another 15-year-old student and is backed by advocacy group Digital Freedom Project. It argues the ban infringes constitutional rights and should be replaced with targeted measures against cyberbullying and predatory behaviour. The case has yet to be scheduled for hearing. The communications minister and e-safety commissioner were not immediately available for comment. But Wells has said the government stands by the law, regardless of any legal challenges.

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