Australia defends teen social media ban in top court
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Australia's government defended its world-first ban on under-16s accessing social media in the nation's top court, rejecting a legal challenge by Reddit and a libertarian advocacy group. The seven-judge panel will decide the fate of the law after a government lawyer argued it was a necessary harm minimisation measure to protect children's physical and mental health.
The ban, described by the lawyer as a relatively minor and viewpoint-neutral restriction, would incur fines for platforms that failed to comply, yet multiple studies have shown most Australian children still use social media.
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