Australia's Labor government, which banned social media for children, has taken another revolutionary step to strengthen online security. Under a new draft law proposed by the government, tech companies will now have to give users the right to choose the content they receive on their main feed. Called 'My Feed, My Way', the initiative will require social media platforms to give users a choice as to what type of content they want to see on their timeline – algorithm-based posts or content from only the people they follow.
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Highlights of 'My Feed, My Way' initiative
Complete control over feed: Users over the age of 16 can now decide whether they want an algorithmically personalized feed or just see posts from their friends and creators.
Controlling social media addiction: The government believes that the algorithms of tech companies show only the content of their choice to the users to keep them stuck on the platform for a longer time, which wastes time and increases addiction.
Provision of heavy penalty: If any digital platform does not follow these rules, it can be fined a maximum of 109.2 million Australian dollars.
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More stringent protection for children and adults
Australia is the first country in the world to ban social media for children. Now under the newly proposed 'Digital Duty of Care', platforms like online games, apps and AI chatbots will also have to take necessary steps to protect users under 18 years of age from harmful content. Strict action will be taken against content promoting eating disorders, criminal or deadly stunts.