The Australian government has proposed new laws that would allow social media users aged 16 and over to opt out of algorithms that personalize their feeds. According to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, the legislation would provide "genuine and enduring choice" for users, who could choose to see only content from friends and creators they follow rather than algorithm-recommended posts. The proposed Digital Duty of Care legislation also aims to protect children by banning content that promotes eating disorders or mental health distress, among other categories. If companies fail to comply with the new laws, they could face penalties up to 109.2 million Australian dollars.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-08,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
The Australian government is set to introduce new laws that will require social media companies to give users the option to opt out of algorithms controlling their content. The Digital Duty of Care bill aims to protect children and adults from online harms such as eating disorders, bullying, and extremist content. Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok will face fines of up to $109 million if they fail to comply with the new laws. The opt-out option will be presented to users in a pop-up message, allowing them to choose whether or not to see algorithm-generated content. This move is seen as a significant milestone in global efforts to improve online safety and limit the exposure of social media users to misinformation and other types of harmful content. The government has also stated that it will give more power to the eSafety Commission chief, Julie Inman Grant, to target sites for not lifting efforts to abide by Australia's ban on young people accessing social media.
Written for “Australia's Social Media Law” on 2026-09-08,
grounded in this article and the 7 other(s) covering the same event.
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The model judged this article politically coded and scored it +0.35, but none of the 1 quote(s) it offered could be found in the article text, so the score is not published.
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Leaning score withheld for article 6912: no verified evidence · logged 2026-09-08
Australian social media users to be offered choice to opt out of algorithms
CANBERRA, Australia —
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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.
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they → give → 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.
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Albanese → require → 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.
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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.
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"It gives users choice and it will hold the big tech companies responsible for inaction.
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companies → give → inaction
If they don't follow our laws, they will face significant penalties," Albanese added.
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Albanese → follow → penalties
Penalties under the proposed Digital Duty of Care legislation could be as high as 109.2 million Australian dollars ($78.6 million).
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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.
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Users would be able to opt in to having their default feed include personalized content recommended by an algorithm.
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feed → opt → algorithm
Alternatively, users could see the content of friends and creators they choose to follow.
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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.
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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.
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