Australia is pressing ahead with tougher rules for social media platforms, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pushing back after the United States warned the proposed laws could open the door to censorship.
In a statement, the US embassy in Canberra said it had “serious concerns” about draft legislation that would impose a “duty of care” on major social media companies.
Asked to respond to the embassy’s remarks, Mr Albanese told journalists in New York he would “always stand up for Australia’s national interest”.
“It’s not about giving government control, it’s about giving people back control over what they receive on their devices,” Mr Albanese said.
“Which is why it is framed in that way.”
The draft laws would expose social media giants to fines of up to Aus$109 million (€67.7m) if they fail to protect young users from harmful material.
Platforms would be responsible for shielding under-18s from pornography, online bullying, content that glorified crime, and content that encouraged eating disorders.
Another major element would require companies to give users the ability to “opt out” of powerful algorithms that shape what appears in social media feeds.
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The government plans to introduce the draft laws to Australia’s parliament later this year, following consultations with social media companies, industry bodies and civil society groups.
But the US embassy cautioned that the proposal could “allow regulators to impose rigid, one-size-fits-all platform design requirements”.
“A framework that empowers governments to enforce vague definitions of ‘harm’ risks becoming a mechanism for viewpoint-based censorship,” it added.
The embassy also argued the measures would disproportionately affect US-headquartered companies, and reiterated its “opposition to foreign measures that result in extraterritorial censorship of protected speech by Americans online”.
The draft rules come as Australia tightens its approach to youth online safety. In December, it implemented legislation barring children from social media platforms in what was described as a world-first crackdown aimed at stopping online bullying and limiting “predatory algorithms”.
The UK, France and others have followed suit.
Data released last month showed under-16s in Australia were using social media apps such as Instagram and TikTok more, despite the ban.
