Anthony Albanese US visit: Sits down with former Apple head Tim Cook in California to talk child safety

Tech companies should be able to work together to make platforms safer for users, the Prime Minister says as he meets with some of the industry’s biggest titans.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met with former Apple head Tim Cook and other executives at the company’s headquarters in California on Sunday morning Australian time.

The one-hour, closed-door meeting followed a phone call between Mr Albanese and Mr Cook in June off the back of Apple rolling out child safety features on its devices.

Some of the features were inspired by Australia’s social media ban for under 16s, which came into effect from December with millions of under-age accounts deactivated.

Mr Albanese received a demonstration of the safety features during the visit, which included child accounts with parental controls which limit access to certain apps and websites, as well as when they can be used.

The Prime Minister said Apple and other tech companies had acknowledged the pioneering role Australia was playing in the space.

“It was a proud moment today ... when the head of a major company that has changed the world, like Apple, recognises the leadership that Australia has shown,” he told reporters in California.

“That’s leadership, of course, that has come from parents who’ve dealt with personal tragedies and have channelled that personal tragedy into wanting other families to not go through what they have gone through.”

Mr Albanese also raised upcoming social media reforms with Mr Cook, including plans to give social media users the ability to opt out of algorithmic feeds.

Social media platforms would also be required to protect under-age users from harmful content online as part of a digital duty of care.

Laws are expected to be introduced to federal parliament later in the year.

While the Silicon Valley giants have their own corporate interests, Mr Albanese said they needed to be collaborative to protect people.

“The capacity of technology companies to work through challenges, I believe that they have to do that,” he said.

“Governments have a particular role to ensure that that occurs, that they’re fulfilling their social responsibility because that’s how they get a social licence.”

The Prime Minister will head to New York ahead of attending the United Nations General Assembly.

Reforms such as putting guardrails on artificial intelligence are set to be on the agenda, with Mr Albanese indicating a multilateral response was needed.

“Companies need to have in place mechanisms and need to assure the public that those mechanisms are in place,” he said.

“That needs to be reinforced by nation states taking action, but also there is a need for a discussion about what the global framework is for the rollout of AI, because it is moving very quickly.

“We need to make sure that humans remain in control.”

National AI standards were unveiled in July, which would require data centres to be powered by renewable energy.

Mr Albanese said a balance needed to be struck between the benefits of the technology and reining it in.

“You’ll see some statements this week emerge as well from nations that recognise that we need to work together and co-operate,” he said.