# ‘Global reckoning’ is coming for big tech, says Australian minister

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/global-reckoning-is-coming-for-big-tech-says-australian-minister/
- Published: 2026-09-08T09:37:05+00:00
- Updated: 2026-09-08T15:44:15+00:00
- Original publisher: The Register
- Original article: https://www.theregister.com/legal/2026/09/08/global-reckoning-is-coming-for-big-tech-says-australian-minister/5294909
- Topics: Government, Politics

## Key points

- Australia proposes a "digital duty of care" law for tech platforms.
- Users could opt out of algorithmic feeds under "my feed, my way".
- Ministers could ban harmful content categories after e-Safety review and parliamentary vote.

## Summary

Australia's government has unveiled draft legislation to impose a "digital duty of care" on tech companies, framing it as basic safety regulation akin to standards for cars, food and appliances. Communications Minister Anika Wells said the law would end an era of platforms "running real-time, unregulated product testing on Australians", while Prime Minister Anthony Albanese presented it as a natural successor to Australia's existing ban on social media accounts for under-16s and pledged that children would "no longer be treated as commodities".

Under the proposal, marketed as "my feed, my way", users could opt out of algorithmic recommendations to see only content from accounts they already follow, and switch back at any time. The bill would also let the responsible minister, after consulting the e-Safety Commissioner and securing a parliamentary vote, ban categories of content including material that glorifies crime, promotes terrorism, or relates to eating disorders, pornography, sexual violence and misogyny. The "duty of care" label nods to the 1932 UK case Donoghue v Stevenson, a cornerstone of tort law establishing that providers must avoid foreseeable harm; critics have raised concerns about censorship, which Albanese rejected, insisting the plan hands control to people rather than government.

## Coverage

- [The Register: ‘Global reckoning’ is coming for big tech, says Australian minister](https://www.theregister.com/legal/2026/09/08/global-reckoning-is-coming-for-big-tech-says-australian-minister/5294909)
- [The Guardian: Australia's digital duty of care bill a ‘global reckoning for big tech’, minister says – video](https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/video/2026/sep/08/digital-duty-of-care-bill-global-reckoning-for-big-tech-video)

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.