Australia Announces Bill to Allow Opt-Out of Social Media Content Algorithms

Canberra (ANTARA) - Australian citizens will be able to choose to opt out of content algorithms on social media platforms under a proposed bill, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on Tuesday (8/9).

Speaking to reporters at Parliament House, Albanese stated that the digital duty of care legislation would require social media platforms to provide users with the option to decline algorithm-based recommendations and instead view only content from accounts they follow.

Furthermore, Albanese and Australian Communications Minister Anika Wells stated that the bill would mandate various platforms to protect users under the age of 18 from harmful content, including content promoting eating disorders, misogynistic content, and content that glorifies crime.

Platforms proven to have violated the new regulations would face fines of up to 100 million Australian dollars (1 Australian dollar = Rp12,749).

“It is about giving control to the people. About returning freedom of choice to the hands of Australians in the digital world,” said Albanese.

Wells described the new law as the next step forward in requiring technology companies to be held accountable for the harmful impacts caused by their platforms.

“It has been far too long that tech companies have been conducting real-time product testing without oversight on Australians, and their platforms and tools have infiltrated our daily lives in ways we never imagined before,” she said.

“Global demands for accountability will soon catch up with the tech giants,” Wells added.

This follows the Albanese-led Labour government’s 2024 passage of the world’s first social media ban for children under the age of 16, which is set to take effect in December 2025.

In June, Albanese and Wells stated that the government would double the maximum fine for violators of the minimum age limit law to 99 million Australian dollars.