Australians will be able to switch off social media algorithms under planned legislation

Australians would be able to turn off social media algorithms under draft laws due to be introduced this week.

Communications Minister Anika Wells, who last year led the government’s world-first social media ban for under-16s, said the digital duty of care laws would provide "some basic safety protections on an industry that hasn't had to observe it".

She said tech companies such as Meta, Google and TikTok should face "substantial" penalties if they failed to offer users the option to disable algorithms.

Some opposition figures have criticised the plan, with Liberal Party leader Angus Taylor saying he was "highly sceptical" and claiming it could amount to censorship.

Wells said the government would take "expert advice" on whether users should have to opt in or opt out of the algorithms that feed them content online.

That means, as with its social media ban, the government is seeking to introduce legislation before fully finalising how it will operate.

"We want to give Australians more choice over what they see on their social media feeds," Wells told the ABC on Monday.

"We know that 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, seeing local businesses in their suburb.

"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.

"Big tech is not a protected species and they should offer their customers basic safety standards."

She also acknowledged that no tech company has yet been fined for failing to enforce the social media ban, despite research repeatedly showing that most under-16s who were on platforms before the ban was introduced last December still use them.

Some opposition members say they support the idea in principle, while others argue it is an effort to restrict freedom of speech.

Taylor told News24 he feared it was "an attempt by the government to censor social media" and said Labor should first try to close loopholes in the social media ban.

Speaking on Channel Nine’s Today show, Wells said: "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."

Last week, prominent consent advocate Chanel Contos told Australia’s National Press Club that the government should require an opt-in for algorithmic social media feeds, making it harder for tech firms to work around any reforms.

She said algorithms were driving the prevalence of sexual violence in Australia and exposing young people to misogynistic "manosphere" material.

The draft legislation is expected in the coming days. Alongside algorithm rules, it is also expected to place responsibility on platforms to prevent harmful content, including illegal pornography and videos promoting disordered eating, from being shared.

Australia has banned social media for kids under 16.