Anthony Albanese threatens $100m fines for social media giants under major new Australian algorithm laws
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has put Big Tech on notice with $100 million fines as Labor moves to give Aussies more control over what appears in their feeds.
Anthony Albanese has put social media giants on notice that they could face fines of more than $100 million as Labor moves to wrestle control of Australians’ feeds away from powerful algorithms.
Under the proposed “My Feed, My Way” changes, social media companies would be required to notify users and give them a choice between personalised content recommended by an algorithm or posts solely from the friends and creators they choose to follow.
Speaking on Sunrise on Wednesday, the Prime Minister said the plan was designed to put Australians back in the driver’s seat.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“This is about putting the power back in Australian hands and away from the tech giants who, of course, we know that this is causing massive issues and many of your listeners will be concerned about what their people have access to,” he said.
“We know that within a period of just literally minutes, people who go online can often be fed quite dangerous material, pornography, a range of things that they don’t really want to see going down those rabbit holes.”
But questions remain over whether the tech giants will actually play ball, particularly after Australia’s world-first under-16 social media ban struggled to completely keep teenagers off the platforms.
Mr Albanese conceded enforcing the rules was not straightforward, but argued stronger powers for the eSafety Commissioner and substantially higher penalties would give the Government more teeth.
“Well, there have been no fines issued because the power of the Esafety commissioner hasn’t been strong enough. That’s why we’ve legislated for that, to enable that, as well as the doubling of the fines,” he said.
“This will provide for fines of $100 million to make sure that there is compliance with this.”
The legislation currently before Parliament would lift the maximum civil penalty for a company breaching social media minimum-age obligations to $109.2 million. Separate draft Digital Duty of Care laws also propose penalties of up to $109.2 million for non-compliance.
The broader online safety push will also target harmful material shown to children, including content promoting eating disorders, misogyny, pornography and dangerous behaviour.
Mr Albanese pointed to growing concerns about mental health, eating disorders and the material being served to young men online as reasons tougher action was needed.
“It’s not easy. Something needs to change. It’s the right thing to do,” he said.
“And Australia once again is leading the world.”
The proposed algorithm changes are still at draft stage and will undergo consultation before legislation is introduced to Parliament later this year.
