The United States has formally objected to Australia’s draft digital duty of care legislation, which would require technology companies to provide users with the ability to disable social media algorithms or face significant financial penalties. The legislation aims to shield users from potentially harmful content by giving them greater control over their feed curation methods.
In an official submission to Australian authorities, the US embassy expressed serious concerns about the framework, arguing that enforcing vague definitions of “harm” could constitute viewpoint-based censorship. The submission raised questions about how the government would determine what constitutes harm and risk, requesting clarification to ensure the definitions do not infringe upon constitutionally protected speech. Additionally, the US warned that technology companies might respond to the requirements by reducing the visibility of independent journalists and other voices addressing sensitive or controversial topics.
The American government also contended that mandatory algorithm opt-out features could impose inflexible platform design requirements on technology firms, potentially affecting user experiences globally rather than solely within Australia. Officials expressed concern that government officials’ potential biases could disadvantage independent or minority viewpoint content. The submission further cautioned that the legislation could damage Australia’s standing as a jurisdiction supportive of technological innovation.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has defended the legislation as empowering individual users rather than expanding government authority. Speaking during his visit to the United States to address the UN General Assembly, Albanese characterized the laws as returning control to citizens over the content they receive on their devices rather than granting regulatory bodies expanded powers.
This regulatory effort represents Australia’s continued focus on addressing online harms, following the country’s implementation of a social media ban for children under 16 the previous December.
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