Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is turning to big tech for support regarding his country’s child online safety laws and upcoming artificial intelligence regulations. During a visit to California on Saturday, Albanese met with former Apple CEO Tim Cook at the company’s headquarters, emphasizing that Australia needs cooperation from tech giants to protect children from internet dangers.
“We spoke about what we’re doing to protect children from online harm and the work ahead,” Albanese shared on social media. He added that Australia is establishing stronger rules to keep citizens safe online and noted that companies like Apple are beginning to step up. In a corresponding post on X, Tim Cook mentioned sharing new “strong and intuitive controls to help keep kids safe online” with the Prime Minister. According to Albanese, Cook views Australia’s current curbs on social media as “world-leading”.
Australia has been at the forefront of digital regulation, having implemented a world-first ban on social media platforms for users under 16 last year to combat online bullying and “predatory algorithms”. Despite this ban, recent data indicates that social media use on apps like Instagram and TikTok is actually rising among under-16s.
To strengthen these efforts, new draft laws unveiled this month propose a “duty of care” requirement for companies operating platforms like Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram. The draft legislation will also allow users the option to turn off algorithms entirely. These draft laws are expected to be introduced to parliament later this year after a consultation period with social media companies, civil society groups, and industry bodies.
Beyond social media, Albanese used his U.S. trip—which coincides with the upcoming United Nations General Assembly—to push for greater regulation of artificial intelligence amid growing safety warnings from industry leaders. Australia plans to introduce new AI standards by the end of the year.
“The risk is that AI develops in a way in which humans are no longer in control of what AI is producing,” Albanese told the national broadcaster ABC. “How do we make sure that people are in control rather than the technology in control of us?”