Overview
- An exposure draft of the Digital Duty of Care is expected to be released this week and will be introduced to parliament for debate.
- The draft would require platforms to present user‑facing pop‑ups that let people disable personalised recommender algorithms and see content only from accounts they follow.
- It would place duty‑of‑care obligations on tech firms to identify and mitigate risks, name specific psychosocial harms for under‑18s such as body image and bullying, and strengthen the eSafety commissioner’s investigatory powers.
- Breaches could attract very large fines reportedly in the order of A$100 million, the Greens are pushing for opt‑in defaults and turnover‑linked penalties, and the Coalition has raised free‑speech and censorship concerns.
- The proposal builds on Australia’s December 2025 under‑16 social media ban and responds to enforcement gaps found by eSafety, but experts warn the law’s effect will depend on technical details such as which feeds are covered and how non‑algorithmic alternatives are implemented.