Australia would give every user over 16 an off switch for the algorithm
The country the UK is copying has published draft laws that treat its age ban as the first layer, and would make platforms ask users which feed they want.
On 8 September 2026 the Australian government published draft Digital Duty of Care legislation, describing it as "the next step following its world leading social media age ban". Failing the duty of care would carry penalties of up to A$109.2 million, enforced by the eSafety Commissioner.
Update, 17 October 2026: the Online Safety Amendment (Digital Duty of Care) Bill 2026 was introduced to the House of Representatives on 15 October 2026 and referred the same day to the Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee, which is due to report on 20 November 2026. It is not yet law. This article describes the September draft; the bill as introduced may differ in detail.
The centrepiece is called "My Feed, My Way". Platforms would have to send every new and existing user a notification offering a choice of default feed: personalised content picked by the algorithm, or only the friends and creators that user follows. Communications minister Anika Wells said the choice applies to Australians over 16 and that platforms would be required "to respect that choice". Prime Minister Anthony Albanese framed it as "not about giving government control, it is about giving people control".
The duties reach well past social media. Online games, apps and AI chatbots would have to protect under-18s from addictive design features and from features that affect a young person's self-esteem, and from content that promotes eating disorders, pornography, material glorifying crime or life-endangering stunts, and abuse and bullying. Platforms would have to document what they did about each identified risk and show it still works. eSafety would also gain the power to order nudify apps and websites taken down.
Why this matters for a UK parent
The UK reached this point in the opposite order. Platform duties on design and content came first, under the Online Safety Act, and Ofcom wrote to services on 28 August to confirm the under-16 ban does not pause them. Australia banned first and is adding the duties now.
The part the UK does not have is the feed choice. Here, autoplay and personalised feeds are to be switched off by default for 16- and 17-year-olds, who are, in the government's words, "free to change their settings if they wish to". Australia would put the same question to every adult user. And its nudify takedown power lands the same week the UK said it will legislate for device-level nude-image blocking.
Nothing here changes UK law, and none of it applies to your child's phone yet. Two reasons to keep half an eye on it. Australia's ban took effect in December 2025 and the UK's is due in spring 2027, so Australia's problems tend to arrive here later. And the feed choice is written for users over 16, which means it would not reach a 15-year-old either. On your own devices, the setup guides cover what you can turn off today.