Overview
- Prime Minister Anthony Albanese unveiled the draft Digital Duty of Care on Tuesday that would give people aged 16 and over a legal choice between algorithmic recommendations and a feed showing only accounts they follow.
- The proposal would extend obligations beyond social networks to online games, apps and AI chatbots and specify protections for under‑18s against content that promotes eating disorders, misogyny, pornography, glorifies crime or encourages dangerous dares.
- Companies that fail to meet the new duties could face fines of up to 109 million Australian dollars under the draft, a fixed high‑penalty model that differs from the EU’s percentage‑of‑revenue approach.
- The shift follows research and usage data showing the earlier under‑16 account ban produced only short‑term drops in teens’ use and that young people often circumvented limits with fake or older accounts, prompting policymakers to focus on product design and user choice.
- The government has opened the draft for industry and stakeholder consultation with plans to introduce the bill to parliament later in 2026, a step that is likely to prompt legal and technical challenges from platforms and shape how controls and enforcement are implemented.