A Sydney high school student has launched an extraordinary High Court challenge against the federal government’s upcoming ban on social media use for children under 16, arguing the new law is unconstitutional and puts young people at greater risk online.
Fifteen-year-old Noah Jones first learned about the government’s plan the same way millions of Australians obtain their news — through social media itself. From December 10, users aged under 16 will be blocked from Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X, YouTube, Threads, Reddit, Twitch and Kick as part of a world-first attempt to restrict children’s digital exposure.
Noah, alongside fellow 15-year-old plaintiff Macy Neyland, argues that banning children will create “an underground internet” where teenagers secretly access platforms using fake accounts, leaving them unable to report predators or harmful content.
“If kids sneak onto these platforms, they won’t tell their parents or police when something dangerous happens because they weren’t supposed to be there in the first place,” Noah said.
Macy added that the ban represents “bad safety policy”, calling for safer platform design, age-appropriate features and strong privacy-based age verification.
Noah’s mother, lawyer and former primary school teacher Renee Jones, said removing children from the digital world is unrealistic. “Noah’s entire life has been digital — his newborn photos were taken on an iPhone. This is the world young people live in. Removing them won’t keep them safer.”
NSW Libertarian MP John Ruddick, through his Digital Freedom Project, filed proceedings in the High Court on Thursday after major tech companies declined to challenge the legislation. He argues that the ban infringes upon the implied freedom of political communication, noting that young people will soon enter the electorate and require access to information.
Noah is already writing to school captains around Australia to discuss the issue and encourage political engagement. “I’ll be voting soon. If you cut young people off from information, we’ll be invisible.”
Federal Communications Minister Anika Wells dismissed the legal challenge, saying the government stands “on the side of parents, not platforms”, and will not back down.
The High Court is expected to set a hearing date in the coming days, with the plaintiffs seeking an injunction to delay the ban until early next year.
