Australia wants choice to ‘opt out’ of social media algorithms

User control over social media algorithms and under-16 protections are among the Australian Prime Minister’s checklists in recently proposed legislation.

Having the choice to opt out of social media algorithms is the highlight of the recently proposed Digital Duty of Care legislation in Australia, as announced by its government on Tuesday.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has clarified that the move is not about giving control to the government, but “putting choice back into the hands of Australians online.”

“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,” said Albanese in a press conference, as quoted by NPR.

Aside from having the choice to opt out of social media algorithms, the proposed law will also cover the protection of children from harmful content online. 

Among these contents are: encouragement of eating disorders; pornography; crime-related content; and harmful ideas against women—as algorithms revolving around these topics can potentially cause serious mental health crises.

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What does the Digital Duty of Care cover?

The Australian government said in a statement that penalties on big tech companies violating the Digital Duty of Care can reach up to AU$109.2 million (US$78.6 million).

Covering giant social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, these apps are required to notify its users of the new and existing policies to offer the choice of opting out from their default algorithms.

Moreover, unlike the usual potluck homepage of seeing content from random people depending on trends, the law will require platforms to provide feeds that only show the user’s friends and following.

Meanwhile, digital services such as artificial intelligence chatbots and online games are also covered. 

Protection against themes and features that may cause children’s low self-esteem or addiction is required.

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