Australian teen challenging social media ban says internet will be less safe

A teenager suing the Australian government to overturn a ban on social media for under-16s says the measure would make the internet more dangerous for young people and be widely circumvented.



Noah Jones, 15, is a co-plaintiff in a High Court case against Communications Minister Anika Wells and eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant.



The law, due to take effect on December 10, would block minors from platforms such as Meta's Instagram, TikTok and Snap's Snapchat. The government says the ban will protect children from harmful content and online predators.



Jones argues the policy will isolate teens and push them into riskier behaviour.



"We should be cutting off the bad things about social media," he told Reuters from his home in Sydney. "When kids do things in secret, that's when things can be really harmful."



Jones said social media is essential for staying connected and sharing ideas, likening it to a modern-day town square.



"I have almost all the people in my year on Snapchat. It's a light way of being connected. Most people will get quite separated," he said.