PM says social media amendment bill delay is “outrageous”

ABC Radio The World Today

Presented by Andy Park Fri 3 Jul 2026 at 12:00pm

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says delays to the enactment of new laws to further crack down on global social media companies will harm Australian children.

A government bill which would double the fines and give more powers to the eSafety Commissioner will now be reviewed by a Senate committee.

The Prime Minister says the delay is “outrageous” and will play into the hands of the “big tech” companies. 

Featured:    

Anthony Albanese, Prime Minister
Julie Inman-Grant, eSafety Commissioner
Sarah Henderson, Liberal Senator
Professor Terry Flew, University of Sydney 

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How to tame your feed

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.