Australia says won't let big tech have 'unfettered' access to kids

Australia said Thursday it refused to allow big tech to have “unfettered” access to its kids as it formally introduced new legislation that would give users choice over what they see on their feeds.

Under the centre-left Labor government’s “Digital Duty of Care” bill, firms behind popular platforms such as Facebook, TikTok and Instagram will be required to give users the choice to opt out of the powerful algorithms that dictate what we see online.

They will also be held directly responsible for protecting under-18s from pornography, online bullying, content that glorifies crime, and content that encourages eating disorders.

“The problem today is that big tech has been allowed to live-test its products on Australians,” Communications Minister Anika Wells told the National Press Club in Canberra.

“Today, I want to make a simple argument: if you build it, you are responsible for its risks.”

“I wholeheartedly believe one day we will look back on Australia’s minimum age for social media and think, ‘I cannot believe we used to let big tech have unfettered access to our children’.”

“We didn’t abandon seatbelts because people didn’t want to buckle up, and we will not flinch at holding tech companies to account when our littlest citizens are at stake.”

Wells said she formally introduced the “Digital Duty of Care” bill to parliament on Thursday morning.

But it faces an uphill battle — Labor will need support from the left-wing Greens to get it through the senate.

Australia’s conservative opposition has vowed to “fight it every step of the way” and said it gives the government too much power to control speech.

Wells dismissed those fears on Thursday and said a previous clause in the draft legislation that would have granted ministerial powers to define harmful content had been removed.

“We are not controlling free speech. We are not conducting covert surveillance,” Wells insisted.

“This is not about what people say on the internet. It’s about what platforms do on the internet,” she said.

Australia rolled out world-first legislation last year, barring children under the age of 16 from accessing a number of social media apps.

Several countries have said they will seek to follow suit, including neighbouring New Zealand, the UK, France and Turkey.

Data from parental control app Qustodio in August showed that under-16s in Australia were increasing their use of social media apps such as Instagram and TikTok despite the ban.