Australia proposes a “My Feed, My Way” initiative requiring social platforms to send users a notification asking them to opt in or out of algorithmic content
In short: — The federal government's proposed digital duty of care could let Australians opt in or out of algorithmically recommended social media content.
Context & Ripple Effects
Australia’s platform-regulation agenda has moved from the ACCC’s digital-platform oversight recommendations and a proposed media bargaining code to the 2024 plan for a digital duty of care for major tech companies. The new feed-choice requirement makes that safety framework tangible at the product-interface level.
The proposal has drawn broad international coverage, while public reaction frames it as a test of whether user choice over ranking systems is a meaningful form of platform accountability.
First-order effects
- Social platforms serving Australians would need to notify users of their feed options and provide a working route to opt in or out of algorithmically recommended content.
- Australians would gain an explicit feed-setting decision rather than having algorithmic recommendation operate solely as the default experience.
Second-order effects
- Platforms would have to maintain and clearly distinguish a non-algorithmic feed experience, making feed design, defaults and disclosure language a compliance concern.
- A duty-of-care regime that reaches recommendation interfaces gives Australian regulators a practical mechanism to assess whether platform controls are usable rather than merely disclosed.
Third-order effects
- If the duty-of-care approach is applied through similar product controls, platform governance shifts from policing individual content toward regulating the interfaces and defaults that shape distribution.
- Algorithmic feeds may increasingly be treated as a user-consent setting, creating pressure for comparable choice architectures across regulated digital services.
The trend: Australia is extending platform accountability from content and commercial conduct into user control over the recommendation systems that determine what people see.
Related: Consent architecture · Interface-Neutral Platform Governance · Digital duty of care proposal · ACCC digital-platform regulation recommendations
Related Coverage
- My feed, My Way — Prime Minister of Australia — The Albanese Government is taking … Prime Minister of Australia
- Australia targets social media algorithms with new user-choice rules Reuters · Renju Jose
- ‘Global reckoning for big tech’: Australia to force social media platforms to allow users to opt out of algorithms The Guardian
- What to know about changes proposed for social media Yahoo News · Annabelle Banfield
- Australia targets big tech with algorithm opt-out bill Deutsche Welle · Emilio Reynoso
- Online Safety Amendment (Strengthening Enforcement for the Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2026 Senate Hansard Proof Commonwealth of Australia
- ‘Digital duty of care’ laws will force tech platforms to look after users The Conversation · Lisa M. Given
- Big blow to Big Tech as Australia pushes to switch off social media algorithms: How this will work Firstpost · FP Explainers
- Social media users could opt out of the algorithm if Australian government has its way - but that's a big if The Guardian · Josh Taylor
- ‘My feed, my way’: PM unveils new social media crackdown Capital Brief · Zac de Silva
- Australian Government vs Social Media - “My Feed, My Way”: Another Slogan, Nothing Solved EFTM · Trevor Long
- New law to force social media giants to give Aussies option to opt out of algorithms Nine.com.au · Yashee Sharma
- Coalition backs parents and transparency as Labor pushes sweeping new eSafety powers Senator the Hon Sarah Henderson
- Australia moves to give users the right to opt out of social media algorithms Allora!
- ‘Global reckoning’ is coming for big tech, says Australian minister The Register
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- Australia Proposes ‘My Feed, My Way’ for Social Media Users Devdiscourse
- New law could allow Australians to opt out of social media algorithms Mediaweek · Tom Gosby
- Australian government proposes digital duty of care for online services Telecompaper
- What does a post-algorithm life looks like for advertisers? Mumbrella · Nathan Jolly
- My Feed, My Way Hacker News
- Australia is proposing to let social media users switch off algorithm-driven feeds Quartz · Cris Tolomia
- ‘Global reckoning for big tech’: Australia to force social media platforms to allow users to opt out of algorithms https://www.theguardian.com/ ... Draft legislation enforces digital duty of care including limiting children's exposure to misogynistic and eating disorder content. #auspol #auslaw #dutyofcare #socialmedia #digitalplatforms @drrimmer@aus.social · Matthew Rimmer
- Australians will be able to switch off social media algorithms under draft legislation to be introduced this week by the Labor party BBC · Simon Atkinson
- Australia proposes opt-out law for social media algorithms Financial Times · Nic Fildes
- Australia targets algorithmic social feeds as it looks to hit Big Tech harder CNBC · Sawdah Bhaimiya
- Australian social media users to be offered choice to opt out of algorithms Associated Press
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- Labor unveils online safety laws giving people power over their social media feeds | ABC NEWS ABC News (Australia) on YouTube
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- Australia unveils landmark Bill to let social media users opt out of algorithm The Straits Times · Jonathan Pearlman
- Australia unveils user-choice rules for social media algorithms Reuters
- Australian Social Media Users Could Get Power to Switch Off Algorithms New York Times · Laura Chung
- Australian PM announces opt-out laws for social media algorithms The Hans India · Ians
- ‘Good to have choice’: Australians on opting out of social media algorithms BBC
- Australian Government to Allow Opt Out Of Social Media Algorithms Wall Street Journal · James Glynn
- Australia Sets Up New Big Tech Fight With Bid to Block Targeting Bloomberg · Angus Whitley
- Albanese's fix for your social media feed has one big flaw Sydney Morning Herald · David Swan
- New law could allow Australians to opt out of social media algorithms Mediaweek · Tom Gosby
- Australia's digital duty of care bill a ‘global reckoning for big tech’, minister says - video The Guardian
- Albanese versus the feed: War on algorithms reignites free speech feud Sydney Morning Herald
- Australia's Answer to Big Tech Algorithms: Opt Out Newser · Arden Dier
- ‘Digital duty of care’ to let Aussies opt out of social media algorithms Information Age · Tom Williams
- Australia moves to give users control over social media feeds PocketGamer.biz · Isa Muhammad
- Australia proposes $100 million fines on social media companies UPI · Joe Fisher
- Australia Forcing Social Media Apps to Give Users Algorithm Control iPhone in Canada · Usman Qureshi
- Fight for control over algorithms intensifies Crikey · Rich James
- Australia Targets Meta's Jugular: Hyper-Personal Social Feeds Investor's Business Daily · Harriet Weber
- Australian social media users to be offered choice to opt out of algorithms Associated Press
- Australia Proposes to Make Social Media Algorithms Optional TechRepublic · Kezia Jungco
- Opt in or opt out of the social media algorithm. The choice is yours Anika Wells MP · Anika Wells
Discussion
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MLex
MLex
on x
Australia's draft digital duty-of-care law targets social-media algorithms | MLex | Specialist news and analysis on legal risk and regulation
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@albomp
Anthony Albanese
on x
We're holding big tech to account and giving Australians more power over their feeds.
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@qbccintegrity
@qbccintegrity
on x
@AlboMP You're really not. You're actually a coward who's government is pathologically compromised and deceptive, so much so that you want to force “big tech
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r/aussie
r
on reddit
Labor proposes social media algorithm choice under new digital duty of care
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Gabbi Stubbs
Gabbi Stubbs
on linkedin
The bare minimum in social media protection? Giving people a choice over who decides what we see. — Australia's proposed digital duty of care …
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Tony Vizza
Tony Vizza
on linkedin
It's really been quite the day for #technology related regulation and reform. — The Federal Government is proposing that #socialmedia platforms allow users …
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r/UpliftingNews
r
on reddit
Australia to force social media platforms to allow users to opt out of algorithms
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r/AusNewsWire
r
on reddit
Australia to force social media platforms to allow users to opt out of algorithms
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r/technology
r
on reddit
Australia to force social media platforms to allow users to opt out of algorithms
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r/behindthebastards
r
on reddit
Posting this because social media is one of the biggest bastards out there
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Stephen Johnson, PhD
Stephen Johnson, PhD
on linkedin
Australia is once again putting the horse before the cart. — Protecting children online is unquestionably necessary. …
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r/Destiny
r
on reddit
Australia to force social media platforms to allow users to opt out of algorithms
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@harriblogs
Harriet Weber
on x
More on the push to limit default algorithmic feeds:
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@paulinehansonoz
Pauline Hanson
on x
A government that cannot be trusted to tell Australians the truth should not be given more power over what Australians can see and say online. How are Australians supposed to call out Labor's lies if the government can pressure platforms to silence its critics and restrict free s…