Reddit has launched a lawsuit in Australia's highest court against the country's bold under-16 social media ban.
On Friday, December 12, the message board website said the ban should be declared invalid as it interferes with free political communication implied by the country's constitution.
The filing also added that even if the court continues the ban, Reddit should be exempted since it does not meet the definition of social media.
Moreover, the lawsuit, filed two days into the rollout of the world's first nationwide ban, is the second such challenge after two teenagers representing an Australian libertarian group last month.
Health Minister Mark Butler said Reddit filed the lawsuit to protect profits, not young people's right to political expression, and "we will fight this action every step of the way".
"It is action we saw time and time again by Big Tobacco against tobacco control, and we are seeing it now by some social media or big tech giants," he told reporters in Brisbane.
Australia kicked off the social media ban on December 10, with Reddit and nine other platforms, including Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, forced to comply with the new regulation.
The platforms are required to bar underage users or face a fine of up to A$49.5 million ($33 million), while underage users and their caregivers do not face punishment.
