Inside Australia's plan to beat the algorithm
Show notes
Australia was the first country in the world to ban social media for under-16s. Now, it's taking aim at something even bigger: the algorithms that keep everyone hooked.
Under a new "My Feed, My Way" proposal, tech companies could be forced to let users switch off the personalised recommendation systems that decide what they see on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.
Supporters say it could reduce exposure to addictive, divisive content. Critics, including the platforms themselves, warn it could make apps far less useful, and put the burden of managing it back on parents.
This comes as Meta agreed to pay $18 billion over allegations it knowingly built addictive features to hook teenagers, as concerns about the power of big tech mount worldwide.
So is Australia getting ahead of a global problem — or creating a new one? And can an algorithm even really be switched off?
On this episode of Asia Specific, host Mariko Oi is joined by BBC Australia correspondent Katy Watson and Tama Leaver, Professor of Internet Studies at Curtin University
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