STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS

Ms JARRETT (Brisbane) (13:34): I remember when Facebook and Instagram first started, and I used them extensively to stay in touch with family and friends who lived half a world away. Today, I hardly see a post from them, and, in fact, I have to search for their profiles. Something changed, and that was big tech interfering more and more in what I could see.

Why? They found a business model that made them a lot of money. Underpinning that was a changed algorithm.

Worse, we now have an insidious system that is designed to keep us scrolling, one that captures our attention. It might make us curious, angry or afraid, but it also serves us up the same thing over and over again. The problem is that what holds our attention is not always good for us.

Many young people in particular see the impacts, and they can be especially harmful. Algorithms can repeatedly promote unrealistic beauty standards, extreme content and constant comparisons while encouraging more and more time online. Frankly, our attention is no longer simply captured.

It's been commodified. It's been fuelled by outreach, and it's been driven by clickbait. That's why, this week, we announced our digital duty of care.

Those opposite are claiming that what we've done threatens freedom of speech. In fact, it's the exact opposite. Freedom means giving people control over what they see online.

My Feed, My Way and Labor's world-leading reforms will do just that.