澳大利亚：政府在高等法院为青少年社交媒体禁令辩护 称其对政治表达的限制温和且正当
澳大利亚政府律师11月4日在高等法院表示，澳大利亚全球首创的青少年社交媒体禁令是一项温和、无党派且正当的措施，对政治表达的限制有充分理由，以此驳回 Reddit 提出的法律挑战。该案听证进入第二天，由七名法官组成的合议庭审理。
澳大利亚近一年前立法禁止大型社交媒体平台允许16岁以下未成年人开设账号。消息平台 Reddit 与一个自由意志主义倡导团体寻求推翻该法，理由是它违反宪法保障的言论自由。政府为该法辩护，称其为必要的危害最小化措施。Reddit 的律师在庭上说，该法对未成年人的言论自由施加的负担，与让他们远离社交媒体的收益不成比例；政府律师 Stephen Lloyd 则说，禁令的负担是间接而温和的，并已有积极效果，儿童仍可在无账号状态下浏览部分内容，该法在观点上保持中立、不针对任何特定政治表达。
按该法，儿童与照护人不受处罚，但平台若系统性不合规，最高可被罚款9900万澳元（约6897万美元）。包括电子安全专员在内的多项研究发现，该国大多数16岁以下未成年人仍在使用社交媒体，政府称正准备提起执法诉讼。听证已休庭，法官将在另定日期宣判；若原告胜诉，不仅对澳大利亚、也对全球多地跟进立法的议员构成重大挫折。
（来源：澳大利亚高等法院）
Australia: Government Defends Teen Social Media Ban in the High Court as a Modest and Justified Curb on Political Expression
Australia's world-first teen social media ban was a modest, non-partisan and justified curb on political expression, a lawyer for the government told the High Court on November 4, rejecting a legal challenge by Reddit. The hearing, before a seven-judge panel, was in its second day.
Nearly a year ago Australia banned large social media platforms from allowing under-16s to hold accounts. Messaging platform Reddit and a libertarian advocacy group have sought to invalidate the law on grounds that it violates constitutionally protected speech, while the government defends it as a necessary harm minimisation measure. After Reddit's lawyer told the court the law's burden on free speech for minors was disproportionate to the benefits of keeping them off social media, government lawyer Stephen Lloyd said the burden was indirect and modest in extent, that the law had proven positive effects, that children could still view some content without an account, and that the law was viewpoint neutral and did not target any particular type of political expression.
Under the law, children and caregivers face no punishment, but platforms can be fined up to A$99 million (US$68.97 million) for systemic noncompliance. Multiple studies, including by the eSafety Commissioner, have found that most of the country's under-16s still use social media, and the government has said it is preparing an enforcement lawsuit. Lloyd said it was unclear whether noncompliance resulted from weaknesses in age assurance technology or platforms' failure to implement it, but added the law would contribute to the government's child protection aims regardless. The hearing has been adjourned to a date to be decided, when the judges are expected to give a ruling; a win for the plaintiffs would be a major setback for lawmakers around the world who have followed with similar measures.
来源：澳大利亚高等法院
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
图片来源：照片：澳大利亚高等法院大楼（堪培拉），Thennicke 摄，Wikimedia Commons，CC BY-SA 4.0 授权 / Photo: High Court of Australia building in Canberra, by Thennicke, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
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