Anthony Albanese social media laws spark clash as Michaelia Cash warns of ‘digital duty of control’

Labor’s plan to overhaul what Australians see on social media has sparked a fiery political clash, with the Coalition accusing the Albanese Government of creating a “digital duty of control” over people’s feeds.

Under the proposed changes, tech platforms would be required to notify new and existing users and give them a choice over whether their feed is shaped by an algorithm or limited to content from accounts they have chosen to follow.

Environment Minister Murray Watt was forced to defend the plan on Sunrise on Wednesday, arguing Australians should have greater control over what social media giants serve them.

“We know at the moment that the algorithm is forcing all sorts of material on people, some of which is pretty unsavoury, and we know that Australians want to have more control over what they see on their feeds,” he said.

“And that’s why what we’re proposing is that people will be able to opt out of that and go back to simply following the pages, the people that they want to follow.”

Mr Watt acknowledged tech giants could attempt to work around the changes, after similar measures overseas were criticised for making algorithm controls difficult to find or repeatedly resetting users’ preferences.

“We understand that the big tech giants are going to try and get around this. They’ve tried to get around our other social media reforms,” he said.

But shadow Attorney-General Michaelia Cash argued the legislation handed too much power to the government and Communications Minister Anika Wells.

“This goes to something really fundamental. Who should actually be in control of what you see online? Should it be you as an Australian, or should it be the Albanese government?” she said.

“Mr Albanese talks about the digital duty of care when I look at this, though, and the sweeping powers that the minister has given to herself, this looks more like a digital duty of control.”

The pair then clashed over what material would be restricted under the laws.

Mr Watt said content including child sexual abuse material and terrorist material would be targeted for adults, while additional protections for children would cover content promoting eating disorders and hatred towards women.

“Why should people be able to share child pornography? Why should people be able to share terrorist activity? That’s what we’re trying to control,” he said.

Ms Cash repeatedly insisted the Coalition supported protecting children and reining in big tech but argued the legislation needed greater scrutiny because of the minister’s powers to make rules after it passed.

Mr Watt rejected suggestions the government would dictate Australians’ feeds, saying ministerial decisions could be overruled by the Senate.

For adults, however, he conceded there would still be limits to how far the government could go in policing legal but potentially harmful material.

“Unfortunately, if people choose to pick up material that the rest of us wouldn’t encourage, that’s their choice,” he said.

“But we aren’t going to be allowing illegal material to be shared when it comes to adults.”