Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is set to arrive in New York on Monday for the annual United Nations General Assembly, where he intends to seek international collaborators to address the influence of social media giants.
Albanese believes a concerted global effort is necessary to compel change from social media companies, particularly concerning harm to children. Last year, he hosted an event at the UN leaders week, highlighting Australia's initiative to ban social media accounts for children under 16. This ban has since resulted in the closure of as many as 5 million accounts in Australia.
Earlier this month, Albanese announced plans to legislate a digital duty of care and introduce rules allowing social media users to opt out of algorithms. He stated that Australia took action because "the community said 'enough was enough', and we would no longer let Australian kids be treated as commodities instead of children."
As Albanese travels to the US, where he is scheduled to meet with Apple's chair and former chief executive, Tim Cook, he is supported by recent polling. A DemosAU poll this week found that 66% of voters back opt-out requirements for algorithms, with only 13% opposed.
Communications Minister Anika Wells stated that under the next round of reforms, users over 16 will gain new tools to disable algorithm-driven content, with platforms facing fines exceeding A$100 million for non-compliance. Children under 18 will also receive new protections against specific harms, including pornography, content promoting eating disorders, misogynistic material, depictions of crime and dangerous stunts, and content likely to cause mental health problems.