Story perspectives

Australia to draft social media opt-out duty-of-care laws

9/7/2026

Summary

Story summary

The Australian government will introduce draft duty-of-care legislation this week allowing users to opt out of social-media recommender algorithms.
The proposal pairs algorithm opt-out with fines exceeding A$100 million for platforms that fail to manage harmful content.
Communications Minister Anika Wells said the laws give Australians choice and require big-tech safety standards.
Liberal Party leader Angus Taylor warned the measure could be censorship and urged focus on the under-16 ban.

History

Historical Context

Adopted in April 2016 and enforced from 25 May 2018, the GDPR gave the European Commission and national bodies such as Ireland’s Data Protection Commission authority to impose large penalties. Enforcement grew from €160 million in 2020 to over €1 billion in 2021, prompting record fines of €345 million on TikTok and €1.2 billion on Meta companies.

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Story summary

The Australian government will introduce draft duty-of-care legislation this week allowing users to opt out of social-media recommender algorithms.
The proposal pairs algorithm opt-out with fines exceeding A$100 million for platforms that fail to manage harmful content.
Communications Minister Anika Wells said the laws give Australians choice and require big-tech safety standards.
Liberal Party leader Angus Taylor warned the measure could be censorship and urged focus on the under-16 ban.

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