Explained: Labor's Digital Duty of Care Bill and the 'My Feed, My Way' Algorithm Opt-Out
The Albanese government has released the exposure draft of the Online Safety Amendment (Digital Duty of Care) Bill 2026, combining two big ideas: a new duty-of-care regime for digital platforms and a plan to let Australians switch off social media algorithms. The draft, released on 8 September 2026, covers social media, search engines and AI chatbots, and proposes penalties of up to $109.2 million (A$109.2 million) for breaches. The Guardian NPR
The PM has branded the opt-out component the 'My feed, My Way' plan. Under it, Australians over 16 would get a notification or pop-up offering a choice between the platform's algorithmic feed and a chronological one based on friends and creators they follow. Communications minister Anika Wells framed it as a choice between the algorithm or the content the user chose. Those who stick with the algorithm can keep using platforms as they do now and can swap back whenever they like. The Guardian PM.gov.au
The mechanics aren't new. Instagram, YouTube and X already offer tabs that show only followed content. The difference is that the government wants to make the choice mandatory at a system level rather than leave it to users to find. The government has also flagged a risk: platforms could comply by building an algorithm-free feed that technically meets the rules but degrades functionality for users. The Guardian
The Digital Duty of Care is the core of the bill. It would require digital services to ensure a 'safe online environment', protecting children from harmful content and adults from seriously harmful content. The designated harms for children include pornography, abuse or bullying, promotion of eating disorders, hostility to women or gender equality, and crime or dangerous stunts. For adults, content can be removed if it promotes terrorism, sexual violence, extreme violence, self-harm or suicide, cruelty to animals, crime, illicit drug use, or child sexual exploitation, abuse or grooming. Harassment and explicit threats of physical violence are also banned. The Guardian Department of Infrastructure
Wells has sought to limit the scope. She told reporters the designated harms were 'just illegal content' and that the eSafety commissioner would decide what counts as harassment. Misinformation and political commentary would not be targeted, she said, and the Senate would have power to disallow the minister's designations of new harm categories. The Guardian
The Coalition isn't buying it. The opposition has claimed the minister's power to classify new forms of harm could let the government shut down expression of views it disagrees with. Put plainly, the argument is that a flexible designation power is a censorship power waiting to be used. The Guardian
The bill also targets platform design features it classes as having 'negative behavioural impacts': endless scroll, displaying views, likes and engagement metrics, time-limited content such as Snapchat and Instagram stories, and personalised content feeds. For users under 16, platforms would be required to disable these features. The bill would also mandate annual risk assessments, with platforms required to manage the risks they identify. The Guardian Department of Infrastructure
The eSafety commissioner would gain takedown powers covering 'nudify' apps, websites or cyberbullying links. Wells cited the Grok image generator as a case in point, saying the proposed rules would have let her ban the tool after it was used to generate nude images of people, including some who consented to the images being made. The Guardian
The reform has drawn predictable lines. Campaigner Chanel Contos welcomed the bill. The Greens said it should go further and end doomscrolling altogether. The PM, for his part, has predicted blowback. The Guardian
The broader context here is a government that has spent the better part of 2026 building the architecture for this moment. The Department of Infrastructure confirmed in May that the government had committed to legislating a Digital Duty of Care under the Online Safety Act 2021, following stakeholder consultation in May and June 2026. The government had earlier endorsed the review's key recommendation that platforms proactively manage risks. Department of Infrastructure Department of Infrastructure
The design of the bill reflects that trajectory. The duty of care shifts the regulatory burden from reactive takedown notices to proactive risk management. Platforms are being told to identify and mitigate harms before they escalate, not wait for the commissioner to come knocking. The PM's office has described it as a landmark reform that puts the onus on service providers to take reasonable steps. PM.gov.au PM.gov.au
The political fight will turn on the designation power. The Coalition's censorship claim is the line of attack most likely to stick in the Senate, where the government needs crossbench support. Wells's defence rests on the Senate disallowance mechanism and her insistence that the scope is limited to illegal content. Whether that holds depends on how the crossbench reads the minister's discretion, and whether the eSafety commissioner's definition of harassment is seen as adequately bounded. The draft is open for consultation. The tech lobby has not yet weighed in publicly. The political lobby has.
