U.S. warns Australia’s social media algorithm reforms risk ‘facilitating censorship’

The United States government has issued a warning to Australia regarding its proposed social media algorithm reforms, cautioning that the measures risk facilitating censorship. The controversy centers on legislation that would require digital platforms to offer a default content feed while allowing users to opt out in favor of chronological posts from followed accounts.

Washington criticized the Australian proposal for relying on vague definitions. According to the U.S. assessment, these ambiguities could incentivize technology platforms to excessively moderate protected speech to avoid government penalties, thereby creating a risk of viewpoint-based censorship.