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Slave to the algorithm: big tech in violence spotlight

From FBC News · () English

Summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Australian ministers and experts met in Sydney to discuss how social media algorithms may promote misogynistic content and contribute to sexual violence among young people.
  • Consent advocate Chanel Contos said platforms should make algorithmic feeds opt-in, rather than requiring users to find an opt-out setting.
  • The discussion will inform a New South Wales sexual violence plan due in 2027, alongside priorities including consent education and support for survivors.

Australians should have to opt in before social media platforms can feed them algorithmically recommended content, consent advocate Chanel Contos said after a Sydney summit on violence against women and girls.

Federal Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek and New South Wales Education Minister Prue Car convened the roundtable with school leaders, experts and politicians. The meeting examined alleged sexual violence and growing concern about misogyny among young people. Women's Safety Commissioner Hannah Tonkin called for urgent action.

NSW ministers said algorithms can push material promoting harmful attitudes toward gender, relationships and consent. The federal government is examining how other jurisdictions regulate the issue. Plibersek has previously discussed allowing Australians to opt out of algorithmic feeds and view only posts from friends and accounts they follow, an approach already available in the European Union.

Opt-out means Big Tech can keep deciding what you see until you go looking for the setting to switch it off

· Chanel ContosThe Teach Us Consent founder criticized a model that leaves algorithmic recommendations enabled by default.

Contos, who founded Teach Us Consent, said that approach leaves technology companies in control by default. “Opt-out means Big Tech can keep deciding what you see until you go looking for the setting to switch it off,” she told AAP. “Opt-in means the default is a following-driven feed, and you have full control over whether you opt-in to a recommendation-driven feed.”

Contos said the European Union's opt-out model had failed because platforms made the setting difficult to find and discouraged people from using it. She also cited Teach Us Consent research indicating that boys aged 16 to 18 could receive misogynistic content less than 25 minutes after joining a platform, even when their preferences sought to exclude it.

The meeting also identified broader priorities, including expanding consent education in schools, strengthening support for survivors of sexual violence and helping parents discuss healthy relationships with their children. The three NSW ministers said the discussion would help shape a state sexual violence plan scheduled for release in 2027.

Opt-in means the default is a following-driven feed, and you have full control over whether you opt-in to a recommendation-driven feed

· Chanel ContosContos explained why she wants users to actively choose algorithmic recommendations.
About this summary

Originally published by FBC News. Summarized and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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