Australia Proposes 'Digital Duty of Care' to Curb Algorithmic Influence

The Australian government is introducing legislation to impose a “digital duty of care” on tech companies, treating online services with the same safety standards applied to food, cars, and appliances, according to reporting from The Register.

Minister for Communications Anika Wells stated that the move follows a period where tech firms conducted “unregulated product testing on Australians.” A central pillar of the proposal is the “my feed, my way” concept, which would require platforms to allow users to opt into an experience that displays content only from accounts they follow, removing algorithmic curation. Users would retain the ability to opt back into algorithmic feeds at will.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese framed the initiative as a way to ensure children are not “treated as commodities” and as a successor to laws banning social media accounts for children under 16. He emphasized that the goal is to give control to the people rather than the government.

Under the proposed law, the relevant minister, after consulting with Australia’s e-Safety Commissioner, could seek a parliamentary vote to ban content that promotes terrorism, glorifies crime, involves pornography, sexual violence, misogyny, or eating disorders.

Wells noted that a “global reckoning” is coming for big tech, suggesting that Australia’s approach could mirror its previous social media ban for children, which Albanese claims has influenced over 20 other countries.