July 19, 2026 – 10:00 p.m. Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. TOTOTO Big AI companies will be caught in Labour’s tough Digital Duty of Care proposal, the government has promised, in its latest move to project a sense of control over
Big AI companies will be caught in Labour’s tough Digital Duty of Care proposal, the government has promised, in its latest move to project a sense of control over the AI revolution.
After Prime Minister Anthony Albanese unveiled rules for building data centers last week, his government has pivoted to talk about new consumer protections.
Also on Sunday, Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan unveiled separate laws that would make it easier for parents to sue AI or social media companies for mental harm.
Without providing full details, the Albanian government promises stricter privacy laws for personal data, rules to prevent companies from using AI to adjust prices based on a buyer’s wealth, and a framework to regulate the use of automated decision-making by federal agencies such as Centrelink.
The online duty of care, which has raised concerns among critics who support an open Internet, will capture AI companies. This means that private actors such as OpenAI and Anthropic may need to conduct risk assessments and publicly report on the consequences of their systems to comply with Australian law.
Proposing safety obligations for AI companies is another sign that Labor wants to appear early ahead of the party’s national conference this week, at which unions and other activists will demand more interventionist approaches. Albanese is trying to balance those instincts with Labor’s desire for greater investment in AI in Australia.
Assistant Minister for Science, Technology and the Digital Economy Andrew Charlton said AI was critical to both national security and a more dynamic economy, as China aimed to overtake the United States in technology that was expected to shape geopolitical competition for years to come.
“This is the most important technology of our lifetimes, and as a nation we are faced with the question of whether we want to have it in Australia,” Charlton said on the Sky programme. Sunday agenda. “If we rent it abroad, that means we will always pay foreigners for this technology.
“It’s also important for security. These data centers store your photographs and your medical records. Having that data in Australia has value for us.”
The Digital Duty of Care proposal was announced alongside Labour’s ban on social media for under-16s. It would shift the responsibility to platforms from responding to individual complaints to preventing harm before it happens.
The Labor Party has said it wants to regulate AI more quickly than it took to clamp down on social media, but the extent to which a smaller nation can shape the future of AI adoption is uncertain as larger nations and tech giants set the rules of engagement.
Tech companies, privacy campaigners and free speech groups have warned that duty of care reform could make it impossible to maintain an anonymous account online and could revive elements of disinformation laws abandoned by the Labor Party.
In a keynote speech last week, Albanese flagged new laws to ensure the data center gold rush, which has underpinned Australia’s flat economy, would not put pressure on the country’s energy or water supplies.
Liberal deputy leader Jane Hume said Albanese’s speech “received a lot of publicity, but in reality there was very little”.
“It was a process speech. It was about bureaucracy more than opportunity and innovation,” he said. “Where was the conversation about lowering barriers to entry, innovation, lowering energy prices or upskilling workers?”
The Victorian government said on Sunday it would introduce laws to unmask online trolls and make it easier for people to sue digital giants.
“They feel helpless… on a couple of fronts,” said Prime Minister Jacinta Allan. “How quickly kids become obsessed with these online platforms… I see it in my own home.”
Under the proposal, Victoria’s Civil and Administrative Tribunal would be given so-called unmasking powers to force social giants to detail the identity of users.
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Paul Sakkal is chief political correspondent. He previously covered Victorian politics and won a Walkley Award and Press Gallery Journalist of the Year 2025. Contact him securely on Signal @paulsakkal.14.Connect through X either email.From our partners
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