THE’Australia is preparing to launch a further one regulatory crackdown against digital giants after blocking access to social media for children under 16. With the new bill renamed My Feed, My WayPrime Minister Anthony Albanese intends grant users over 16 years of age the ability to deactivate automated profiling. Citizens will be able to choose, through a pop-up notification on the platforms, whether maintain a personalized flow from the algorithms or view in chronological order exclusively posts written by profiles and groups followed directly.
Responsibility for supervision will fall to eSafetyAustralia’s internet safety regulator. The regulator will have special powers to require the prompt removal of material deemed illegal or harmful to personal dignity. To ensure the rigorous application of the rule, Communications Minister Anika Wells has provided for severe financial sanctions: technology companies that do not comply with the new provisions they risk fines of up to 109.2 million Australian dollars (equal to approximately 79 million US dollars).
Protection of minors, artificial intelligence and political conflict
The legislative package simultaneously introduces the digital duty of carea protection formula also extended to online games, applications and chatbots based on artificial intelligence. The goal is shield minors under 18 from the spread of pornography, self-harm, misogynist contentI materials capable of triggering serious psychological and eating disorders. The initiative recalls the guidelines of Digital Services Act of the European Unionhowever trying to overcome the critical issues encountered in Europe through more incisive control mechanisms.
Despite the strong support of activist Chanel Contoswhich denounced the role of algorithms in the spread of violent cultures and anti-feminist content among young people, the path in Parliament promises to be complex. Greens spokeswoman Sarah Hanson-Young asked that sanctions are linked to the global turnover of multinationalswhile opposition figures such as Matt Canavan and Angus Taylor have accused the Labor executive of wanting to introduce forms of state censorship. Anthony Albanese, however, reiterated the firmness of the government line, confirming that the text will also be illustrated at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
