Reddit calls Australia's under-16s social media ban 'ill-thought-out' as a High Court challenge begins
Two days of hearings began on Tuesday in Australia's High Court on challenges to the under-16s social media ban, one by a digital rights group and one by Reddit. Reddit's lawyers argued the 2024 legislation was 'ill-thought-out, over-broad' and has since been narrowed.
Left 0 · Centre-left 3 · Centre 3 · Centre-right 0 · Right 0
Blindspot for the right (barely covered by right-leaning outlets)
ContextSources by leanVideoDeep diveFollow the moneyMore coverage
How each side framed it
Left-leaning outlets
'Australia's social media ban 'ill-thought-out', Reddit argues in high court challenge' (The Guardian); 'Reddit blasts Australia's 'inept' social media ban as court challenge begins' (NBC News).
Centre outlets
Centre-rated outlets headline it: “Legal challenge to Australia's social media ban to start in High Court” (BBC News); “High Court hears bid to overturn Australia social media ban” (France 24).
Context
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Sources by lean
Balanced: the same number of articles from the left, the centre and the right (up to 3 each). The bar above still counts every rated outlet we found. Bias and factual ratings come from Media Bias/Fact Check. How we balance · All ratings.
Left 3
Centre 3
- BBC News
Legal challenge to Australia's social media ban to start in High Court - France 24
High Court hears bid to overturn Australia social media ban (paywalled or blocks bots) - Reuters
Reddit blasts 'inept' Australian social media ban as challenge airs in court (paywall or login)
Right 0
No right coverage found — blindspot
Showing 3 from left and centre of 6 rated outlets (L 3 / C 3 / R 0). More coverage
Video
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Deep dive
A short prompt for thinking it through. We write a fuller side-by-side deep dive for the day's biggest stories.
What each side may be protecting: Children's wellbeing versus young people's freedom of communication.
A question to hold: Shared question: what evidence would show the ban is working?
Try it: open one left and one right article in Sources by lean and note what each takes for granted.
Follow the money
Not yet researched. We haven't yet looked at who gains or loses financially from this story, or who funds the main voices on each side. When we do, we check company filings, the Electoral Commission donations register, lobbying registers, annual reports, InfluenceMap and OpenSecrets, and we apply the same checks to every side. How we follow the money.
Who owns or funds the outlets covering this story (6 outlets)
| Outlet | Lean | Ownership & funding (MBFC) |
|---|---|---|
| Al Jazeera | Centre-left | Al Jazeera is owned and funded by the state of Qatar. The founder and Chairman of the Board is Sheikh Hamad bin Thamer Al Thani, a member of Qatar’s ruling family, the House of Thani. According to a Fortune article, i n 2016, state-funded broadcaster Al Jazeera laid off 500 workers due to Qatar’s financial troubles resulting from low global prices for oil and natural gas. source |
| NBC News | Centre-left | No ownership data found |
| The Guardian | Centre-left | The Guardian and its companion publication, the Sunday newspaper The Observer, are owned by Guardian Media Group plc (GMG). Scott Trust Limited was created in 1936 to ensure the editorial independence of the publications and owns Guardian Media Group plc (GMG). source |
| BBC News | Centre | The BBC operates under a Royal Charter. Oversight is managed by the BBC Board, and regulatory authority rests with Ofcom. source |
| France 24 | Centre | France 24 is owned by France Médias Monde, a state-owned French holding company that supervises and coordinates the activities of the major public media organizations broadcasting or publishing internationally from France. Besides government funding, they also generate revenue through advertising. source |
| Reuters | Centre | In April 2008, the British company Reuters Group was acquired by Thomson Corporation and formed Thomson Reuters. source |