Feed Choice in Australia: Government Unveils Bill Proposal
The Australian government has released the Digital Duty of Care proposal. Social networks would have to offer users a choice between personalized recommendations and content from accounts they follow.
Feed choice in Australia is at the heart of the Digital Duty of Care legislation proposal, which the government of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese published on September 8, 2026, for targeted consultation. The proposal would require social networks to offer new and existing users a choice of default content-display mode.
The initiative is called “My Feed, My Way.” Users could choose whether to keep personalized recommendations enabled or turn them off. Under the second option, they should see content from friends and creators they follow, in chronological order.
However, this is not yet an enforceable rule. After the consultation, the government plans to introduce the legislation to Parliament later in 2026. The final form of the law, its effective date, and the precise range of services to which the individual obligations will apply have not yet been confirmed.
Feed choice in Australia as a platform obligation
The proposed mechanism would require platforms to notify not only people creating new accounts about the feed choice, but also existing users. They should be able to set a personalized or non-personalized mode as the default.
The personalized feed uses platform recommendations. The chronological alternative, by contrast, should display posts from accounts users follow. The proposal therefore directly targets social-network user interfaces and how services set default methods for distributing content.
The published information does not yet provide all practical details. It is unclear how often users will need to be reminded of the choice, how easily it can later be changed, or what technical exceptions the rules might contain. The precise definition of a feed without personalized recommendations will also be important.
Digital Duty of Care also covers games, apps, and AI chatbots
Digital Duty of Care is not intended to be limited to social networks. The proposal introduces risk-reduction obligations for online games, apps, and artificial-intelligence-based chatbots as well. The government places particular emphasis on protecting people under 18.
The government is therefore proposing a broader framework of regulatory responsibility for digital services regarding online risks to minors. However, the specific obligations for each service category will need to be assessed based on the full text of the proposal and the consultation results.
For failure to meet the obligations, the government cites a maximum penalty of up to 109.2 million Australian dollars. Oversight and enforcement of the rules would be handled by the eSafety Commissioner.
What happens next
The next step is a targeted consultation on the proposal. Only afterward does the government want to submit the bill to Parliament. The parliamentary process will show whether the proposal receives the necessary support and in what form it may be passed.
Attention will also focus on the positions of the opposition, independent lawmakers, and the Greens. For technology companies, it will be important how the law defines the scope of the obligation for specific products and how operators of major platforms, including Meta, Google and YouTube, TikTok, and X, respond to the proposal.
The government presents the option to choose a feed as part of measures to improve online safety. Claims that the change will limit doomscrolling or specific negative effects of recommendation systems, however, currently represent an expected policy outcome, not a confirmed result.
Sources
- Prime Minister of Australia — My feed, My Way – Confirms the publication of the proposal on September 8, 2026, the feed-choice mechanism, planned penalties, and the fact that the proposal is still headed for consultation and subsequently Parliament.
- ABC News — Federal politics live: PM unveils Digital Duty of Care bill to improve safety online – Independently reports statements by the prime minister and Minister Anika Wells, including disputes over an opt-out versus opt-in model and questions about enforcement.
- ABC News — Opt-out laws for social media algorithms to be introduced to parliament – Described in advance the planned system for choosing between an algorithmic feed and content from followed accounts.
Verified and updated: 09/08/2026 07:41
