Australia proposes algorithm opt‑out

What's happened

Australia has proposed a Digital Duty of Care that will force social platforms to offer users aged 16 and over a choice between algorithmic recommendation feeds or a feed limited to accounts they follow. The draft bill will require platforms to notify users, target addictive design features for under‑18s and allow fines up to A$109.2m for non‑compliance.

What's behind the headline?

What this will change

• Platforms will have to add a persistent, user-facing choice for Australians aged 16 and over: either a personalised, algorithmic feed or a chronological feed restricted to accounts the user follows. This will force product teams to build an explicit opt‑out path rather than hiding it in settings.

Who gains and who pays

• Users will gain control over recommendation systems; younger users and parents will gain added protections against addictive features. Tech firms will face engineering, compliance and notification costs and risk fines up to A$109.2m.

Practical consequences

• Product roadmaps will shift: companies will have to detect Australian accounts, present choice notifications, and log compliance. Platforms will also have to audit and modify features that regulators view as addictive for under‑18s, such as autoplay, infinite scroll and certain reward mechanics.

Political and regulatory momentum

• The government is applying pressure after its under‑16 ban showed enforcement gaps. This bill will increase regulatory oversight by tying safety duties to product design, not just content takedown.

Forecast

• Big tech will negotiate implementation details and likely challenge specific provisions. Expect phased rollouts, technical exemptions for small services, and negotiations about whether choice is opt‑in or opt‑out. Enforcement will hinge on whether the eSafety regulator obtains stronger investigative powers and research access.

Bottom line

• This will force companies to expose the mechanics of feeds and to build safer defaults for younger users. It will also create a new compliance burden that will reshape how platforms design engagement features for Australians.

How we got here

The proposal follows Australiaintroducing a December law that bans under‑16s from holding accounts on major platforms. Regulators and campaigners have pressed the government after studies showed most teens still access restricted platforms despite the ban.

Our analysis

Bloomberg reported that the European Commission is preparing age‑gating and safety measures for social media, online games and AI chatbots, describing draft rules to keep younger teens off certain services (Bloomberg, 14 Sep 2026). Several outlets reported Australiahas moved on algorithmic controls: the government has framed the policy as user empowerment. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters that the rules "will give people over the age of 16 genuine and enduring choice about what they see in their feeds," (AP News, 8 Sep 2026). CNBC and the Independent quoted the draft details and the proposed maximum penalty of A$109.2m, noting platforms must notify new and existing users and that protections will extend to online games and AI chatbots (CNBC, 8 Sep 2026; Independent, 8 Sep 2026). The BBC quoted Communications Minister Anika Wells saying the laws will require "basic safety protections" and that the government is seeking expert advice on whether users should opt in or opt out of algorithmic feeds (BBC Business, 7 Sep 2026). The Guardian and Al Jazeera placed the move in a wider debate about addictive design and child safety: the Guardian warned that an opt‑out alone will not solve systemic harms and called for broader, enforceable duties; Al Jazeera cited critics who said the ban and follow‑up measures have produced patchy results (The Guardian, 5 Sep 2026; Al Jazeera, 7 Sep 2026). Together, the coverage shows consensus on the policy goals but variation on details: government pieces stress user choice and penalties; opinion outlets stress the need for stronger structural fixes and enforcement.

Go deeper

• How will platforms verify the age and location of users to enforce the choice?
• Will the eSafety Commissioner receive stronger investigatory powers and access to platform data?
• How long will companies have to implement the opt‑out and the additional protections for under‑18s?

More on these topics

• Australia - Country in Oceania

  Australia, officially known as the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands.

• Facebook - Social media service

  Facebook is an American online social media and social networking service based in Menlo Park, California and a flagship service of the namesake company Facebook, Inc.

• TikTok

  TikTok/Douyin is a Chinese video-sharing social networking service owned by ByteDance, a Beijing-based Internet technology company founded in 2012 by Zhang Yiming.

• Anika Wells - Australian politician

  Anika Shay Wells (born 11 August 1985) is an Australian politician. She is currently Minister for Communications and Minister for Sport in the Albanese government, having previously served as Minister for Aged Care from 2022 to 2025. She is a member of...

• Anthony Albanese - Prime Minister of Australia since 2022

  Anthony Norman Albanese (born 2 March 1963) is an Australian politician who has served as the 31st prime minister of Australia since 2022. He has been the leader of the Labor Party since 2019 and the member of parliament (MP) for the New South Wales divis

• Instagram - Social networking service

  Instagram is an American photo and video sharing social networking service owned by Facebook, created by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger and originally launched on iOS in October 2010.

• Meta Platforms, Inc. - Social media company

  Facebook, Inc. is an American social media conglomerate corporation based in Menlo Park, California. It was founded by Mark Zuckerberg, along with his fellow roommates and students at Harvard College, who were Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk

• European Union

  The European Union is a political and economic union of 27 member states that are located primarily in Europe. Its members have a combined area of 4,233,255.3 km² and an estimated total population of about 447 million.

• YouTube - Video sharing company

  YouTube is an American online video-sharing platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. Three former PayPal employees—Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim—created the service in February 2005.

• Angus Taylor - Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction

  Angus Taylor is an Australian politician who is the Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction. He is a member of the Liberal Party of Australia and has sat in the Australian House of Representatives for the Division of Hume since 2013.

• Canberra - Capital of Australia

  Canberra is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall.

• United Kingdom - Country in Europe

  The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country located off the north­western coast of the European mainland.

• Elon Musk - CEO of SpaceX

  Elon Reeve Musk FRS is an engineer, industrial designer, technology entrepreneur and philanthropist. He is the founder, CEO, CTO and chief designer of SpaceX; early investor, CEO and product architect of Tesla, Inc.; founder of The Boring Company; co-foun

• LinkedIn - Website

  LinkedIn is an American business and employment-oriented online service that operates via websites and mobile apps. Launched on May 5, 2003, it is mainly used for professional networking, including employers posting jobs and job seekers posting their CVs.

• OpenAI - Artificial intelligence company

  OpenAI is an artificial intelligence research laboratory consisting of the for-profit corporation OpenAI LP and its parent company, the non-profit OpenAI Inc.

• Australian Labor Party - Federal political party in Australia

  The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia and one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party..

• France - Country in Europe

  France, officially the French Republic, is a country consisting of metropolitan France in Western Europe and several overseas regions and territories.