My Feed, My Way
summary
The Australian government is introducing draft legislation to hold digital service providers accountable for user safety through a mandatory 'Duty of Care'. This framework shifts the responsibility of safety onto platforms to ensure they provide a safe online environment by meeting minimum standards. It specifically targets the protection of minors from addictive design and harmful content while granting adult users more control over their feeds. The goal is to to move away from algorithmic control toward user-driven choice and safety.
key points
- The 'My Feed, My Way' initiative allows users over 16 to choose between a personalized algorithmic feed and a chronological feed of people they follow.
- Digital services, including AI chatbots and gaming apps, must remove design features that encourage addiction or negatively impact the self-esteem of users under 18.
- The eSafety Commissioner will have expanded powers to issue removal notices for harmful content and can levy penalties up to $109.2 million for non-compliance.
who should read it
Australian citizens, digital platform operators, and parents concerned about online safety and algorithmic influence.
discussion positive
consensus
Commenters are divided on whether phone usage is a modern plague or a continuation of historical habits like reading newspapers. While some argue that algorithmic feeds create a pernicious addiction that erodes critical thinking and social skills, others maintain that phones are versatile tools for reading, working, and managing boredom. There is a general agreement that 'doomscrolling' is an unproductive and addictive behavior, though disagreement persists on whether this is the norm for all users.
top insight
The distinction between the 'flashiness' of social media and other phone activities suggests a survivorship bias in how we perceive others' phone use. A bystander cannot distinguish between someone scrolling TikTok and someone reading a book or working, leading to an overestimation of the prevalence of social media addiction. This perspective shifts the focus from the device itself to the invisibility of productive digital activity.
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