The United States warns that Australia’s proposed social media algorithm reforms could “facilitate censorship,” according to reporting that cites US concerns about how content feeds may be regulated. The warning focuses on how platforms would be required to handle algorithmic recommendations under the draft measures.
The proposals described across outlets would require social media companies to notify users about algorithmic curation and to provide a “default” algorithmic feed. Users would also have an option to opt out of the default feed and instead view content only from accounts they follow. Outlets differ mainly in emphasis—some highlight the US characterization of censorship risk, while others focus more on the technical features of the opt-out and feed-selection requirements.
