Updated ,first published
Australians over the age of 16 would be able to opt out of social media algorithms under new legislation cracking down on pornography and the glorification of crime, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has confirmed.
“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,” Albanese told reporters in Canberra.
“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 of more than $100 million.”
Labor released the first draft of its Digital Duty of Care laws on Tuesday. Communications Minister Anika Wells said the changes would allow people to choose between having an algorithm-defined social media feed or to just see “their friends, and the content creators they’ve chosen to follow”.
Wells described the reforms as a “global reckoning” for big tech that began with Australia’s social media minimum age laws.
Albanese said he was confident the laws – including the “my feed, my way” algorithm initiative – would withstand any legal challenge.
“This is not about giving government control. It’s about giving people control,” he said. “We have an opportunity to shape technology for the better, rather than let it shape us.”
The laws would also crack down on social media content that promotes eating disorders, misogyny and the glorification of crime to children.
The eSafety commissioner would be given the power to issue removal notices over “nudify” apps and big tech companies would face penalties of more than $100 million for flouting the laws.
The prime minister downplayed the potential for backlash from the Trump administration, which has been critical of other nations curtailing US tech companies.
“Look, we’re a sovereign nation. We decide our policies based upon the Australian national interest,” Albanese said.
More to come
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Brittany Busch is a federal politics reporter for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.
