The Australian government has proposed a switch that lets users turn off recommended content on social media. Platforms would be required to offer it. Somewhere, a product manager just felt a chill.
The platforms built the thing that needs switching off. The algorithm was never a feature anyone asked for. It learned what you couldn’t stop looking at, then served you more of it until you were typing something unrepeatable at 3am.
Now the state wants the companies to hand you the remote for the machine they built to keep your thumb on the remote.
Is this a good idea? It is an overdue one, which is the most damning thing you can say about a switch.
Expect compliance in the usual form: a settings page three menus deep, a toggle that resets after every update, and a banner announcing that your feed has been personalised for your wellbeing. Engineers will call it ‘Chronological Mode (Beta)’ and bury it under Accessibility.
The proposal has not become law. The algorithm became law years ago.