Australia will introduce draft legislation called the "digital duty of care" during the week of September 7, 2026, which will require social media companies such as Meta to give users the option to turn off algorithmic content recommendations on their platforms [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8].
Communications Minister Anika Wells said the policy aims to provide Australians with more control over what they see in their social media feeds and to ensure that big tech firms respect those user choices. She noted, "A lot of Australians appreciate the algorithm, both for the enjoyment they get out of it or the utility that they get out of it. A lot of Australians will want to choose the algorithm—but we think that big tech should offer them the choice in the first place, and they should respect that choice" [1].
The legislation will also require social media companies to better identify problematic or illegal content to protect vulnerable users, including children. Breaches could bring fines exceeding A$100 million [2, 9]. Wells emphasized the legislation is not about censorship, stating, "This isn’t about censorship. This is about identifying risks or making big tech identify the risks on their own platform and making big tech mitigate against those risks on their platform" [1].
The new laws follow Australia’s December 2025 ban on social media access for children under 16, aimed at preventing online bullying and the effects of predatory algorithms. Despite the ban, data from August and September 2026 show use of apps like Instagram and TikTok by Australian children under 16 has actually increased, challenging the ban’s effectiveness [1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 5, 6, 8]. Some studies indicate the ban has only reduced youth social media use by about 4.4%, a figure described as immaterial [2].
Opposition leader Angus Taylor expressed strong skepticism about the draft legislation, warning it could lead to government censorship of social media content. "I’m deeply sceptical. I fear that this is just going to be an attempt by the government to censor social media," he said [1, 2, 9]. Labor officials deny any censorship aim, insisting the bill’s purpose is to identify and mitigate risks on digital platforms [1, 2, 9].
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is expected to promote the digital duty of care plan later in September 2026 at the United Nations General Assembly [2].
