Could Giving Users an Off Switch Rein in Social Media Algorithms?
The proposal would let users switch to feeds from accounts they follow only, while companies could face fines of up to $78.8 million.
- Australia is considering legislation requiring social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok to let users opt out of algorithmic feeds, forcing companies to prompt users to choose between personalized recommendations or content from accounts they follow.
- Minister for Communications Anika Wells said tech companies have been "running real-time, unregulated product testing on Australians," claiming a "global reckoning" is coming for Big Tech over harmful platform effects.
- Proposed legislation includes fines up to $78.8 million for companies failing to document steps addressing user risks, mirroring Meta's nearly $18 billion settlement with States that also restricted teen account features.
- Experts question whether users will actually opt out, noting most people stick to default settings. "Most people just go with the default," said John Wihbey, an associate professor of media innovation at Northeastern University.
- While the European Union's Digital Services Act also forces platforms to allow opt-outs, regulators have complained companies make the process too challenging; U.S. Congress has struggled to implement similar national guardrails amid legislative collapses.
16 Articles
16 Articles
Instagram’s head says engagement falls by half without the algorithm
Adam Mosseri has warned that users who switch off Instagram’s recommendation system end up with a worse experience, telling an Australian press briefing that engagement can fall by as much as 50% and that satisfaction scores fall off a cliff. Mosseri spoke on Thursday as Australia consults on legislation that would force platforms to prompt […] This story continues at The Next Web
Opt-in or opt-out: Australia’s social media safety debate is missing half the story
Laura Koefoed The government has announced draft Digital Duty of Care legislation that will aim to make platforms safer by changing what […] The post Opt-in or opt-out: Australia’s social media safety debate is missing half the story appeared first on QNews.
If users on Instagram didn't have an algorithm for the feed experience, they would be "overrunned" by the content of the accounts with the highest posting frequency – from brands and companies and publishers. An algorithm opt-out would allow Australia by law. So Adam Mosseri explains why and how Instagram does anything.
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