GoKawiilDigital Duty of Care legislation in Australia would give social media users the choice to opt out of algorithms. Australian social media users would be given a choice to opt out of algorithms under proposed laws announced by the government Tuesday that would let users have more control over what they see on their social media feeds.“We’ll require social media platforms to provide user empowerment tools that give people over the age of 16 genuine and enduring choice about what they see in their feeds,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters in Canberra.The proposed legislation would also protect children from content that promotes eating disorders, hostile ideas about women, pornography, crime, dangerous stunts and that causes serious mental health distress.The move for more user control and to keep children safer online follows Australia introducing world-first laws in December last year that ban children younger than 16 from holding accounts on the world’s largest social media platforms including Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.“It gives users choice and it will hold the big tech companies responsible for inaction. If they don’t follow our laws, they will face significant penalties,” Albanese added. Penalties under the proposed Digital Duty of Care legislation could be as high as 109.2 million Australian dollars ($78.6 million).Social media platforms would be required to send a notification to new and existing users offering them a choice over their default feed, a government statement said.Users would be able to opt in to having their default feed include personalized content recommended by an algorithm. Alternatively, users could see the content of friends and creators they choose to follow.Digital services including online games, apps and artificial intelligence chatbots would also be required to protect children from design features that have negative behavioral impacts such as addictive features and those that have an effect on self-esteem, the statement said.In April, Australia’s online safety watchdog said it was considering court action against Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube, alleging they are not doing enough to keep Australian children younger than 16 off their platforms.
Social media users in Australia are moving closer to controlling their feeds. Here’s how
Australia is proposing a Digital Duty of Care law that would force social platforms to let users over 16 opt out of algorithmic feeds and choose a chronological, follow-based feed instead, backed by penalties up to A$109.2 million. It extends Australia's push — after its world-first under-16 social media ban — to regulate not just who is on platforms but how recommendation systems and addictive design work. If passed, it could become a template other governments copy, pressuring global platforms whose businesses depend on algorithmic engagement.
- Platforms would have to notify all users and offer a genuine choice between an algorithmic feed and a feed of accounts they follow.
- Non-compliance could cost up to A$109.2 million (about $78.6 million), and duties extend to games, apps and AI chatbots.
- The bill also targets content harmful to children — eating disorders, misogyny, pornography, crime, dangerous stunts — and addictive design features.
Stolen Focus" by Johann Hari (book) — If Australia's push to let users switch off the algorithm has you thinking about who really controls your feed, Johann Hari's Stolen Focus digs into exactly that: how engagement-driven tech reshapes attention. It's a great read for anyone wanting to reclaim their own scrolling habits while the lawmakers argue it out.
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