US warns Australia's social media algorithm reforms risk 'facilitating censorship'
The U.S. said vague harm rules and feed mandates could force over-moderation and hit American platforms with fines up to Aus$109 million.
- On Tuesday, the United States Embassy in Canberra submitted a formal response expressing "serious concerns" about Australia's proposed Digital Duty of Care legislation, warning the policy risks enabling "viewpoint-based censorship" through mandated platform design requirements.
- Australia's draft legislation requires platforms to offer users a choice between algorithm-recommended content and chronological feeds, a move Washington warns could force tech firms to over-moderate protected speech to avoid regulatory penalties.
- Penalties of up to $109 million could incentivize platforms to pre-emptively demote controversial content, a framework the United States government warned constitutes "extraterritorial censorship of protected speech" affecting users globally.
- Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, currently in New York for the United Nations General Assembly, rejected claims of government overreach, stating the measure intends to restore individual control over content rather than expand state authority.
- The submission further warned the legislation could damage Australia's "reputation as a jurisdiction that enables innovation," citing concerns that incompatible design mandates are not "technically or commercially scalable" for American-owned platforms.
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Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese strongly rejected the US call for American social networks to be removed from the country's new constraints, stating his intention to defend national interests.The US Embassy in Australia previously referred to Canberra's proposed measures as "extraterritorial censorship" and called for the release of American social platforms from new demands, transmitting RIA News. Albanese, in contact with journalist…
Sydney, Australia, Sep 23 (EFE).- Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese this Wednesday defended the need for coordinated international action to protect minors on the Internet, after the US President's government, Donald Trump, called this kind of regulation "censorship."There is recognition that [...] The Albanese ticket defends the regulation of social networks after denouncing "censorship" of the US was first published in HolaNews.
The Independent
The Independent (US)US labels Australia’s proposed algorithm opt-out laws ‘censorship’
Changes applied to algorithms may impact users globally, US says
US warns Australia's social media algorithm reforms risk 'facilitating censorship'
The Trump administration has criticised Australia's proposed social media algorithm reforms, which would give users the option to choose the content on their feeds, warning that Washington would likely view them as "facilitating censorship".
US Warns Australia’s Digital Duty of Care Law Risks ‘Viewpoint-Based Censorship’
US President Donald Trump (R) speaks during a meeting with Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (L) in the Cabinet Room at the White House in Washington, DC, on Oct. 20, 2025. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
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