☕️ Social media ban challenged in High Court

Millions of Americans are currently heading to the ballot box to vote in the midterm elections, with polls expected to close at 10am (Aussie time) today.

The results of this election will not determine who the President is: that will remain Donald Trump. It will, however, determine how that presidency looks, with the outcome deciding who controls both houses of Congress (at the moment, it’s the Republicans).

We’ll be bringing you updates from TDA journos Billi and Orla on the ground in Michigan, a state that’s shaping up to be one of the most-watched races in the country.

Stay tuned!

The quote: “I turned around and I could see [the wind] swirling around... It went from one to 1,000 in a split second. To me it felt an awful lot more than 100km/h.” Retired teacher Stephen Fenn, giving evidence at hearings examining the deaths of six children killed in the 2021 jumping castle tragedy at Tasmania's Hillcrest Primary School.

The stat: 14. The age of one of two people arrested over an alleged baseball bat attack on a One Nation volunteer in Torquay, Victoria on Sunday. The teen was issued with a caution. 

The big question:

Yesterday’s results: 78% of you predicted the RBA would raise the cash rate, 12% thought it would keep it the same, 8% didn’t know and 1% predicted it would lower the cash rate. Thanks for voting - your responses inform TDA's journalism and research. [1,976 votes].

Together with AAP.

One woman plays every character in this chilling play based on an Aussie classic.

Griffin Theatre Company’s Wake in Fright stars Zahra Newman in a one-woman adaptation. It earned 4.5 stars from SMH, The Age and ArtsHub in 2019 and it's at Carriageworks from 2 December.

^{Transparency: This is a sponsored part of the newsletter - the best way to keep the newsletter free for you.}

One in 15 adults have experienced AI-generated image-based abuse since turning 18, according to new research from RMIT University.

The study of more than 7,200 adults across Australia, the UK and the U.S. found younger people and those from racial and ethnic minority backgrounds were also more likely to experience the abuse.

Australia recorded a slightly higher rate than the international average, with 7.7% of adults reporting they had experienced it.

Image-based abuse involves intimate images being created, shared or threatened to be shared without someone’s consent.

Someone can use AI to create or alter an intimate image of another person, even if the original image never existed.

The study looked at three forms of abuse: having an AI-generated intimate image created, having one shared without consent, or being threatened with its release.

Across the three countries, 7% of respondents had experienced at least one form of AI-generated image-based abuse. Almost 87% of victim-survivors reported at least one impact on their lives, including on their health and wellbeing, relationships, work or finances.

Rates were higher among people under 35, LGBTQ+ people, those from racial and ethnic minority backgrounds and people with disability.

Men reported experiencing the abuse at more than twice the rate of women. Lead researcher Professor Nicola Henry said men were also more likely to be perpetrators.

Women, however, reported more negative impacts, including fear for their safety and effects on their mental and physical health.

1800 RESPECT: 1800 737 732.

Reporting by Elliot Lawry.

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The High Court is hearing arguments this week on whether the Federal Government’s social media ban breaches young Australians’ freedom of political communication.

Social media platform Reddit and advocacy group the Digital Freedom Project brought the challenge to Australia’s top court.

The Government argues the restrictions are necessary to prevent the “risks of serious harm to children” posed by social media.

Since December 2025, the Federal Government has restricted social media access for children under 16.

The ban includes Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube, Snapchat, Facebook, Kick, Threads, Twitch, and Reddit.

Social media companies could face fines of up to $109.2 million if under 16s make an account on their platforms.

In the past, the High Court has ruled that Australia’s Constitution implies we have freedom of political communication as part of our democracy.

The Australian Human Rights Commission says this freedom is “from government restraint, rather than a right conferred directly on individuals”.

Last year, the Digital Freedom Project announced a case challenging the youth social media ban in the High Court on the grounds of freedom of political communication.

The Digital Freedom Project is led by NSW Libertarian Party upper house member John Ruddick and describes itself as “concerned about increasing government intervention in the digital space.”

Separately, social media platform Reddit challenged the ban in the High Court, arguing it “burdens the implied freedom” as it “prohibits young people from using tools of political communication”.

In July, High Court Chief Justice Stephen Gageler ruled the cases should proceed together as a joint special case.

In a submission to the court, the Government argued in its defence that the ban is justified due to the risks social media presents to young people, which it says are “based on peer-reviewed research”.

It argues that alternatives such as content regulation, parental controls and education would not be as effective in addressing harm.

Attorneys-General for every state and territory have also intervened in the case, providing submissions to the court in favour of the ban.

The case will be heard over two days this week.

It is unlikely a judgment will be delivered at the end of the hearing, as these are generally “reserved” for a later sitting.

The Court aims to provide reserved judgments within three months of a hearing.

Reporting by Emily Donohoe.

The room you spend the most time in probably deserves a bit more attention.

Ecosa makes that easy, with a range that goes well beyond mattresses. There's award-winning bamboo bedding, a Good Design Award-winning bed frame, sleepwear, storage and decor, plus curated bundles if you'd rather sort the lot at once.

Every bit of it is 30% off in the Sleep Frenzy Sale until 15 November, with fast, free metro shipping on eligible orders. Consider it attention well spent.

When the rose-coloured rock was first located in the Sahara Desert in 2022, no one knew where it had come from, or how old it was. Scientists have since determined the 800-gram specimen, dubbed ‘Teghaza 001’, was a piece of Mars that formed more than 4.1 billion years ago. NASA scientist Lee Saper said the sample shows “interactions of water and rock and maybe even an imprint of the Martian atmosphere as it was losing water.”

Reporting by Emma Gillespie.

A group of restaurants on the Italian island of Sardinia have signed on to a new initiative banning phones and devices at the table. The “Screen-Free Dining” project, led by the region’s youth ombudsman, aims “to put family time back at the centre of meals”.

Families who visit participating restaurants will be asked to hand over their devices in exchange for a “reunion kit” with all-ages games and activities, and a leaflet with advice for parents. So far, 15 Sardinian venues have signed up to the pilot scheme.

Reporting by Emma Gillespie.