Australia has proposed rules that would require social media platforms to give users a choice between personalized recommendations and a feed limited to accounts they follow, as part of a wider digital duty of care for online services.
The federal government released the draft legislation for targeted consultation on September 8. The proposed “My Feed, My Way” measure would require platforms to notify new and existing users about their options and respect the feed choice made by users aged over 16.
Platforms would have to offer a feed choice
Under the government’s proposal, users could opt in to a default feed containing personalized content selected by a platform’s recommendation system. Alternatively, they could opt out and see posts from friends and creators they have chosen to follow.
The government has not yet detailed the technical standards platforms would need to meet or how the option must be presented. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a September 9 interview that the government intends to introduce the legislation in October, but the draft remains subject to consultation and parliamentary approval.
The measure would add a product-design obligation to Australia’s broader effort to regulate large online platforms. It follows the country’s existing restrictions on social media accounts for children younger than 16, which cover major services including Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
The Associated Press reported that the feed choice is intended to provide what the government calls an enduring alternative to algorithmically recommended content. The proposal does not eliminate recommendation systems for adults; it requires that users be offered a choice.
The government has not specified whether the alternative feed must be chronological, how often users could change their preference or how advertising recommendations would be treated. Those implementation questions, and the design of the required notification, remain to be settled through consultation and the final legislation.
Duty of care would extend beyond social media
The wider Digital Duty of Care would apply to digital services including online games, apps, messaging services and artificial intelligence chatbots. Providers would have to identify risks on their platforms, take steps to reduce those risks and document whether their measures remain effective.
The approach would place responsibility on service providers to consider safety in product design, rather than relying only on removal after harmful material is reported. The government said the laws would set minimum standards for features and tools, but those standards were not detailed in the public release.
For users under 18, the draft would require services to address design features that can have negative behavioral effects, including addictive patterns or features that affect self-esteem. It would also cover exposure to specified categories of harmful content, such as material promoting eating disorders, pornography, hostility toward women, dangerous stunts, crime, abuse and bullying.
The proposal would give Australia’s eSafety Commissioner power to issue removal notices for so-called nudify apps and websites. It would also streamline existing processes for child cyberbullying and adult cyber abuse, according to the government release.
Maximum penalty reaches A$109.2 million
Failure to comply with the proposed duty could carry penalties of up to A$109.2 million ($79 million), with the eSafety Commissioner responsible for enforcement. The precise obligations, services in scope and commencement timetable could change as the exposure draft moves through consultation and Parliament.
The rules would directly affect mostly US-based technology groups that operate large social and recommendation platforms in Australia. Reuters reported that the White House criticized the prospect of fines targeting American technology companies. Australia’s communications minister said US officials had not contacted her office about the proposal and rejected the suggestion that the reforms amounted to extortion.
The government said it is seeking feedback from digital platforms, industry bodies, civil society organizations and advocates before taking the bill to Parliament. No effective date has been set, and the consultation outcome will determine how the feed-choice requirement and duty of care are translated into enforceable standards.
Featured image: John Lockwood on Unsplash
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