In case you missed it, this week the Government announced a plan to change the way we view content on social media.

Under the proposed reforms, social media platforms would have to let users choose their default feed. Users could "opt in" to a personalised feed picked by an algorithm (what almost everyone uses now), or "opt out" and see only posts from accounts they follow – a bit like Instagram back in 2015.

It comes after years of campaigning from advocacy groups concerned that social media algorithms were increasingly surfacing violent and extreme content, especially to young men and boys.

One of those groups is youth-led consent charity Teach Us Consent, which launched the Fix Our Feeds campaign. This week, I sat down with the organisation's founder and CEO, Chanel Contos, to talk about how we got here.

Here's that chat.

Q: The Government has just announced that Australians will be able to opt out of social media recommendation algorithms, something you've long campaigned for. What were you seeing online that led you to launch Fix Our Feeds?

It wasn't just what we were seeing online, it was what we were seeing in research too. There was a sudden resurgence in misogynistic attitudes, particularly among younger boys and men, and that played out as real-world harm, including a rise in sexual violence perpetrated by teenage boys.

Teachers around the country told us the same thing: a sudden spike in misogynistic comments in the classroom.

Q: You often cite research that shows it takes just 23 minutes for boys and young men to start seeing misogynistic content in their feeds after they make a new account. Why do algorithms default to that?

Recommendation algorithms are engineered to keep us engaged as long as possible, so they promote content that provokes a strong emotion – fear, insecurity, desire, grievance. Misogyny sits at the centre of that.

There's also a shared profit model: "manfluencers" first sell an aspiration, usually surrounded by women and sports cars. Then they sell a grievance, blaming women or other minorities for why you don't have those things, then a solution they can sell you.

I've started thinking of the manosphere as late-stage capitalism. Girls and women have long been sold insecurities and then sold the solution, and now that's happening to boys and men too, through things like "looksmaxxing." Women have had decades to build language and support around this; boys and men haven't, because it's happened so fast.

Q: Why did you push for an opt-in algorithm model specifically as a solution?

Because extreme misogynistic content was being served up as soon as you sign up to social media. That's a highway straight to misogyny, and we're trying to delay or block it.

The Government's language on opt-in versus opt-out has been confusing, though: what they've described is a prompt where you choose between a following-only feed or a recommendation algorithm, essentially both options at once. It's not entirely opt-in, but not opt-out either. As long as it's properly implemented, we're satisfied with where it has landed.

Q: The EU has tried to roll out a similar model. What went wrong there, and what needs to differ here?

The EU legislation wasn't vague, but tech companies took it literally. Technically you can exit the algorithm within two clicks, but that setting is buried in an otherwise intuitive app.

Once you're on the following-only feed, you lose access to things like DMs, your profile, or stories, so you're punished for choosing it. It also resets back to the algorithm every time you close and reopen the app.

The legislation needs to be clear there's no disincentive for a following-only feed, and that it's a setting, not a filter.

Q: This week, the Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri told TDA he doesn't believe Instagram is addictive. What do you make of that?

I’ve heard that argument before. They’re basically saying you don't get physical withdrawals from social media the way you would from nicotine or alcohol, so it technically isn't clinically addictive.

But you don't get a headache from being away from gambling either, and it's mentally highly addictive, indisputably so.

We’ve recently seen the U.S. social media addiction court cases where platforms have settled rather than let it be proven their products are intentionally addictive. It's completely comparable to gambling addiction.

Q: The Coalition and One Nation have raised concerns that these draft laws could equate to censorship, and the Shadow Communications Minister said it could hurt small businesses who rely on the algorithm for reach. Has that come up in your discussions?

This isn't a censorship issue, if anything it promotes free speech and access to information. The algorithm as it stands already censors and promotes content based on the ideologies of a select few who control it.

This isn't deleting content, just letting people choose whether they see it.

On small business: recommendation algorithms and ads can be separate. Businesses can still target broad demographics, age and location, without hyper-specific behavioural data.

Q: What happens next for you during the consultation period?

We're focused on making sure it plays out as intended.

We also want a strong digital duty of care, so people who choose to keep their algorithm on are still entitled to a safer experience.

Q: I set up a new TikTok account and scrolled for 23 minutes myself. It took about 16 minutes to hit content I'd call misogynistic. Will an algorithm-off fix make that go away?

No, that content will still be all over the internet, but it probably won't perform as well.

It could also be a good parental control, a softer landing for teens going online.

People assume everyone will just opt into the algorithm anyway, but we used to use social media without one, and it was fun!

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