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Updated September 8, 2026 \u2014 1:05pm,first published 12:50pm<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Australians over the age of 16 would be able to opt out of social media algorithms under new legislation cracking down on pornography and the glorification of crime, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has confirmed.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll require social media platforms to provide user empowerment tools that give people over the age of 16 genuine and enduring choice about what they see in their feeds,\u201d Albanese told reporters in Canberra.<\/p>\n \u201cIt gives users choice, and it will hold the big tech companies responsible for inaction. If they don\u2019t follow our laws, they will face significant penalties of more than $100 million.\u201d<\/p>\n Labor released the first draft of its Digital Duty of Care laws<\/a> on Tuesday. Communications Minister Anika Wells said the changes would allow people to choose between having an algorithm-defined social media feed or to just see \u201ctheir friends, and the content creators they\u2019ve chosen to follow\u201d.<\/p>\n Wells described the reforms as a \u201cglobal reckoning\u201d for big tech that began with Australia\u2019s social media minimum age laws<\/a>.<\/p>\n Related Article Albanese said he was confident the laws \u2013 including the \u201cmy feed, my way\u201d algorithm initiative \u2013 would withstand any legal challenge.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not about giving government control. It\u2019s about giving people control,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have an opportunity to shape technology for the better, rather than let it shape us.\u201d<\/p>\n The laws would also crack down on social media content that promotes eating disorders, misogyny and the glorification of crime to children.<\/p>\n The eSafety commissioner would be given the power to issue removal notices over \u201cnudify\u201d apps and big tech companies would face penalties of more than $100 million for flouting the laws.<\/p>\n The prime minister downplayed the potential for backlash from the Trump administration, which has been critical of other nations curtailing US tech companies.<\/p>\n \u201cLook, we\u2019re a sovereign nation. We decide our policies based upon the Australian national interest,\u201d Albanese said.<\/p>\n More to come<\/p>\n Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n![\"Prime](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/3e44a0864bb05d5256896f279cd190377a328dac.jpeg\")
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese unveiling the social media reforms in Canberra on Tuesday.Alex Ellinghausen<\/p>\n![\"Communications](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1788845893_90_f99bddf73ac1ef929387d20715b2894e7b0bd2a9.jpeg\")
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Brittany Busch<\/a> is a federal politics reporter for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Updated September 8, 2026 \u2014 1:05pm,first published 12:50pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":884087,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-884086","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/884086","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=884086"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/884086\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/884087"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=884086"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=884086"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=884086"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}