The Australian government has announced proposed digital duty of care legislation that would fundamentally alter how social media platforms operate within the country. The centerpiece of the plan involves requiring platforms to display a pop-up notification giving users a choice between receiving algorithmically-curated content or viewing only posts and updates from people and groups they have deliberately chosen to follow.
This approach echoes how major social media platforms functioned during the early 2010s, before algorithmic recommendations became the dominant model. The government’s initiative stems from longstanding concerns about algorithmic content curation, which critics argue can expose users to extreme content, facilitate radicalization, enable scams, and amplify divisive outrage-based material that distorts public discourse. Previous investigations have documented how algorithms can quickly push users toward misogynistic and far-right content based on minimal interactions.
While the social media restrictions being implemented were specifically designed to protect users under 16, similar harms affect adults as well, including exposure to financial scams and political radicalization through engagement-driven content. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese framed the proposal as empowering user choice, emphasizing that people could continue with algorithmic feeds if desired but would have an opportunity to opt out.
However, implementation faces significant uncertainty. When Apple introduced app tracking transparency notifications in 2021, it prompted massive user opt-outs that cost Meta approximately $10 billion in a single quarter. Meta has shown resistance to similar measures in Europe; after introducing a no-algorithm feed option to comply with European Union regulations in 2023, a Dutch court subsequently found users were being automatically reverted to algorithmic timelines when reopening the app.
Industry actors are expected to mount resistance. Meta has already announced plans to launch an “Algo Confessions” promotional series in Australia featuring celebrities discussing their algorithmic recommendations. Implementation success will depend heavily on how specifically the legislation is written, as companies may design technical systems to make opting out inconvenient or deliberately complicate the non-algorithmic experience to discourage user adoption of that option.
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