The Australian government has unveiled big plans for draft legislation that will force social media platforms to let users turn off algorithms and manually choose what content appears in their feeds.
The move, spearheaded by Australian Communications Minister Anika Wells, follows the world's first nationwide ban on social media for children under 16 introduced late last year.
Under the proposed "My Feed, My Way" initiative, platforms such as Meta, TikTok, and Google would face substantial financial penalties if they fail to offer feed controls. The government is currently taking expert advice on whether users will be required to actively opt in or opt out of algorithmic curation.
Communications Minister Anika Wells told ABC News that people would be able to choose "over and over" if they wanted to switch between the algorithm and personally chosen content.
"The reality is that lots of people will want to choose the algorithm," she said.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also pressed that the initiative was not about government control, but instead "putting choice back into the hands of Australians online."
