U.S. expresses concerns over Australia’s planned social media regulations
The U.S. government has expressed serious concerns over Australia's proposed Online Safety Amendment Bill, warning that mandates for chronological feeds and content filtering could facilitate censorship. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese defended the legislation as a measure to return control of digital content to users.
Why it matters
This conflict highlights the growing global tension between government regulation of social media platforms and concerns over free speech and corporate autonomy.
The U.S. and Australian governments are at odds over the country’s new draft social media regulations, with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese defending the country’s national interest while the U.S. embassy warned of potential censorship.
The new draft laws place more responsibility on social media companies to protect children from online harms. They would also give users the choice to not have their social media feeds dictated by highly personalised algorithms.
If firms fail in these duties, they could face fines of up to Aus$109 million (USD $78 million).
The U.S. embassy in Canberra published a statement on September 22, warning that a majority of platforms affected would be U.S.-headquartered companies.
It expressed “serious concerns” about Australia’s Online Safety Amendment (Digital Duty of Care) Bill 2026 – Exposure Draft, criticising “forced chronological feeds” and “opt-in recommendation systems.”
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