Australia is less than two weeks away from enforcing a groundbreaking law that would ban all children under 16 from using major social media platforms. But just before the deadline, two Australian teenagers have stepped forward to challenge it at the highest legal level.
The Digital Freedom Project, a campaign group advocating online rights, confirmed that it has filed a constitutional challenge in the High Court of Australia. The plaintiffs are both 15-year-olds — Noah Jones and Macy Neyland — who argue the new law violates their constitutional freedom of political communication.
If the law takes effect on December 10, more than one million social media accounts belonging to teens will be deactivated across platforms including YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook, and Instagram.
The Digital Freedom Project said in a statement that the ban “robs young Australians of their freedom of political communication,” calling the legislation “grossly excessive.”
Neyland expressed deep concern over the impact:
“Young people like me are the voters of tomorrow… we shouldn’t be silenced. It’s like Orwell’s book 1984, and that scares me.”
The organisation’s president, John Ruddick, who also serves as a Libertarian Party member in the New South Wales Parliament, has been vocal in defending online rights for young Australians.
Following news of the legal challenge, Communications Minister Anika Wells maintained the government’s stance. She said Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s administration would not back down in the face of lawsuits or threats.
“The Albanese Labor government remains steadfastly on the side of parents, and not of platforms,” Wells said in Parliament.
Meanwhile, local media reported that YouTube had previously considered filing its own High Court challenge, arguing that the ban restricted political communication.
Governments and tech companies around the world are watching Australia closely as it moves to implement what could become one of the strictest global approaches to limiting minors’ access to social media.
The ban, passed in November 2024, has strong public support. The government cites research showing that heavy social media use harms young teens by exposing them to misinformation, cyberbullying, and unhealthy body image content.
Tech companies failing to comply could face penalties of up to A$49.5 million (RM133 million).
