Human Rights Lawyers warns that complete ban on social media for children under 16 is inconsistent with human rights

Australian Lawyers For Human Rights

Media Release: 5 November 2026

Human Rights Lawyers warns that complete ban on social media for children under 16 is inconsistent with human rights

Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR) has urged policymakers to carefully consider the human rights implications of Australia's social media ban for children under 16, as the High Court considers constitutional challenges to the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024, heard this week.

Separate challenges brought by Reddit and the Digital Freedom Project, heard together, argue that the ban impermissibly burdens the implied freedom of political communication and shuts young Australians out of civic participation.

ALHR acknowledges the importance of protecting children from online harms. However, we emphasise that children are not merely passive recipients of protection. They are rights holders whose freedoms of expression, association, access to information and participation in public affairs must be respected, protected and fulfilled.

ALHR President Nicholas Stewart said that children and young people have long played a vital role in shaping public debate on issues directly affecting their lives.

"Children are not future citizens; they are citizens of today with rights recognised under international human rights law. Young people use social media to express opinions, participate in public discussions, organise around issues they care about and hold decision-makers to their promises."

"Whether the issue is climate change, education, mental health, discrimination, housing or conflict overseas, social media has become one of the primary ways young people engage with civic and political life. Any restriction on that participation requires the most careful scrutiny."

Mr Stewart said that protecting children from harm and respecting their rights were complementary goals rather than competing ones.

"The question should never be framed as a choice between safety and rights. Effective public policy should promote both. Children deserve protection from exploitation, abuse and harmful content, but they also deserve meaningful opportunities to communicate, learn, participate and be heard."

ALHR Vice President and chair of its Children's Rights Committee, Kerry Weste, said the ban must be measured against children’s rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).

“Article 12 of the CRC gives children the right to be heard and to have their views taken seriously. Children’s capacities evolve. Young people do not suddenly become civic participants at 16, or at 18 when they first vote. Reading, questioning and joining public debate is how that capacity grows, and it is essential to civics education. So much of that debate now happens online, and for many young people social media is where they first find and discuss the news. Removing that access shuts them out of civic life at the very age they are learning to take part in it.”

“Children also have the right to seek, receive and impart information, including in accessible formats for children with disability. Social media is where many young people find sexual health information, mental health support and resources from the peak bodies that represent them. Children with disability, refugee children and First Nations children, who are often isolated from others with shared lived experience, experience this ban hardest.”

“Any limit on these rights must be necessary and proportionate. A total ban fails that test when less restrictive means are available. Governments should hold social media companies to account and require them to make their platforms safe, rather than excluding young people from public discourse.”

ALHR notes that the CRC recognises children’s rights to be heard (article 12), to freedom of expression and access to information (articles 13 and 17), to freedom of association (article 15), to the highest attainable standard of health (article 24) and, for First Nations children, to enjoy their culture in community with other members of their group (article 30). The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child’s General Comment No. 25 (2021) confirms that these rights apply fully in the digital environment and that any restrictions must be lawful, necessary and proportionate. The CRPD protects the right of children with disability to express their views on an equal basis with other children (article 7) and to receive information in accessible formats (article 21). These protections are increasingly relevant in the digital environment, where social media platforms operate as modern forums for communication, learning and civic engagement.

ALHR will continue to advocate for approaches that enhance online safety while respecting the fundamental human rights of children and young people.

ALHR was established in 1993 and is a national association of Australian solicitors, barristers, academics, judicial officers and law students who practise and promote international human rights law in Australia. ALHR has active and engaged National, State and Territory committees and specialist thematic committees. Through advocacy, media engagement, education, networking, research and training, ALHR promotes, practices and protects universally accepted standards of human rights throughout Australia and overseas.

ALHR media liaison Amber Plum [email protected] 0407914508