Australia's 'My Feed, My Way' plan puts a social media algorithm opt-out in your hands
Australia's draft digital duty of care legislation includes a sweeping social media algorithm opt-out. Under the government's "My Feed, My Way" initiative, every account holder over the age of 16 could reject algorithmic recommendations and see only posts from the individuals and groups they have actively chosen to follow. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's Labor government released the exposure draft for consultation on 8 September, and platforms that do not comply would face fines above A$100 million.
The rules would require social networks to notify new and existing users about how their default feed works and then let them pick. People can remain on a personalised, algorithmically ranked feed or switch to one built only from accounts they follow, a format closer to how the major platforms behaved in the early 2010s. Communications Minister Anika Wells has said technology firms such as Meta, TikTok and Google would draw substantial penalties if they refuse to offer the choice.
How the social media algorithm opt-out fits the wider bill
The opt-out is one element of the Digital Duty of Care package, which would make platforms legally accountable for limiting harm on their services. Services would have to protect under-18s from material that promotes eating disorders, misogyny, pornography or the glorification of crime. The eSafety Commissioner would gain powers to issue removal notices for harmful content, and platforms would be expected to risk-test their products before launch rather than react after harm occurs.
The proposal follows Australia's world-first ban on social media for under-16s, in force since late 2025, and extends a run of national rules that now reaches into how adult feeds are ranked. Albanese has described the measures as user empowerment tools that give people genuine, lasting control over what appears in their feeds. The government wants the changes in law quickly, with introduction to parliament expected before Christmas 2026.
What the choice means for your feed
For consumers, the social media algorithm opt-out changes what appears on screen. Opt out and personalised recommendations stop, leaving a stream made up entirely of deliberate choices. That removes the discovery layer that surfaces posts from accounts users never followed, which is also the layer many small creators and brands rely on for reach. Australian users who switch off would step outside that recommendation pool, and the consultation now under way is where that trade-off will be tested.
Why this matters
The draft turns feed ranking into a matter of user choice rather than an invisible platform default, a step no other country has taken at this scale. For Australians it means the content they see can be decided by them instead of an engagement-driven system. The consultation, the penalty structure and the parliamentary timeline all point one way: platforms operating in Australia will have to rebuild a core part of their product around what users select, not what their algorithms prefer.
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Researched and cross-referenced against primary sources by the Bytevyte editorial team. This article was generated with the assistance of artificial intelligence and reviewed by the Bytevyte editorial team.