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Australians are being urged to look beyond the headline and understand how journalism is made as news organisations confront a rapidly changing information landscape dominated by social media algorithms and AI.

It was great getting a sense of the deep ethnographic research Agata has undertaken and the links between digital literacy and digital empowerment. What I took away from the conversation was a sense that the algorithms that drive our feeds are not just code, they have a shape and form that evolves based on our interactions. While I would put myself in an ‘algorithms are bad’ camp, I find more people I speak with saying they like their algorithm, it makes their life easier, they just want it to do its work without all the slop and noise. This is where the business models behind the social media platforms come in and left to their own devices, will serve copy to maximise time on screen through extreme content. Counteracting that with hacks like conscious engagement could change our online experiences for the better.

The Albanese government is scrambling to answer questions about national security and the dangers posed by artificial intelligence following revelations that a rogue AI agent deployed by OpenAI hacked sensitive Australian data, including aggregate Medicare records. Social media platforms would have to ask users, through prompts that appear from time to time, whether they want to keep a personalised, algorithm-driven feed or instead see mostly the accounts they have chosen to follow.

As the nation celebrates seven decades of broadcast television, the industry also confronts questions about the future in an increasingly digital world. For more on this, we spoke with Dr Timothy Koskie, a post-doctoral research associate at The University of Sydney’s Centre for AI Trust and Governance.

The headline feature of the federal government’s exposure draft of its long-promised digital duty of care is an “off switch”. Social media platforms would have to ask users, through prompts that appear from time to time, whether they want to keep a personalised, algorithm-driven feed or instead see mostly the accounts they have chosen to follow.

Draft bill to allow users to opt of out feed algorithms.

The federal government is proposing to issue large fines to social media companies that fail to limit the harmful and illegal content fed to users. It wants users to have the power to switch off algorithms that suggest content from accounts they do not follow. The draft legislation is expected to be released later this week but it is already prompting debate in the coalition ranks and condemnation from One Nation.

On Monday, the Australian government released draft legislation for the next big overhaul of the Privacy Act. The Privacy Amendment (Personal Data Protection) Bill 2026 is now out for public comment, together with a consultation paper. It is the second instalment (or “tranche”) of privacy reform , and it is the one that matters most.

Tech giant Meta will pay up to roughly US$18 billion, plus make major design changes to Facebook and Instagram, as part of a settlement it has agreed to in its most recent lawsuit.

This week, a trial commenced in the United States that could drastically change how Facebook and Instagram operate globally. The trial in Oakland, which is expected to last six weeks, pits 29 US states against the two social media platforms’ owner, Meta. Four states – California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey – are running the jury case on behalf of the rest.