AUSTRALIA is advancing a new Digital Duty of Care that could reshuffle how social platforms present content. The government released draft legislation, labelled by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as “My Feed, My Way,” which would allow Australians over 16 to switch off the algorithmic feed and instead see posts from people and creators they follow. Platforms would be obliged to notify both new and existing users and to respect that choice unless the user changes the setting.
The proposal, anticipated to reach Parliament before Christmas, also tightens protections for under-18s, requiring digital services to shield young users from harmful content and design features that could negatively affect behaviour or self-esteem, including content promoting eating disorders, misogyny, crime, dangerous stunts, pornography, or severe mental distress.
The plan places more enforcement responsibility on platforms, with penalties of up to AU$109.2 million (about US$78.6 million) for non-compliance. The Australian eSafety Commissioner would gain power to issue removal notices for nudity-related apps and websites, and to streamline its response to child cyberbullying and adult cyber abuse. The move follows Meta’s recent settlement with US states, in which teens were given the option of a non-personalised feed.
The article notes that opt-out feeds are already appearing in some services—Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat have introduced friends- or following-based feeds—but stresses that defaults remain algorithm-driven, making the reform potentially impactful for broad information exposure and content diversity.