Reddit says it’s not like other social platforms in the case against social media bans in Australia

In a newsworthy move on the Not Like Other Girls subreddit, Reddit, one of the world’s largest social platforms, says it’s not like other actual social media sites, as the company seeks to overturn an Australian law banning children under 16 from using social media.

In a lawsuit filed in the High Court of Australia, Reddit said the law, which came into effect on December 10, limits free political speech by preventing children from expressing their opinions online, and should be overturned.

If the legislation is not repealed, the company says it should be exempt from the law because it does not meet the legislation’s definition of a “social media platform.”

Reddit is essentially asking the Australian High Court to address some questions raised around the legislation, which requires 10 major services to deactivate the accounts of children under 16 and prevent them from using the app. Critics claim the law violates children’s rights, and the companies have sought to raise questions about the definition of “social media.”

In fact, Reddit calls itself “a collection of public forums organized by topic,” and has put forward definitions of “social” in its profile to make clear that “it is not the only or important purpose of Reddit to enable people to interact in a ‘social way’.”

“Reddit enables online interactions around content that users post on the site. It facilitates the sharing of knowledge from one user to other users. It is not an important purpose of the site to enable interactions shared because of a particular user’s relationship or interest in another user as a person.” […] Reddit differs significantly from other sites that allow users to become ‘friends’ with each other, post photos of themselves, or organize events,” the filing states.

In a post accompanying the filing, Reddit administrator LastBluejay said the law carries “some serious issues with the privacy and political expression of everyone online.”

“While we agree with the importance of protecting people under the age of 16, this law has the unfortunate effect of imposing intrusive and unsafe verification processes on adults as well as minors, isolating teens from the ability to engage in age-appropriate community experiences (including political discussions), and creating an irrational patchwork of platforms on which to include and not,” the post said.

Reddit also points out that much of the content on social media platforms can be accessed without an account, and it would be easier to protect children under 16 if they were allowed to have accounts that could then be restricted.