{
  "id": 14603933,
  "title": "What might turning off the algorithm look like? Chinese social media provides some hints",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/15/what-might-turning-off-the-algorithm-look-like-chinese-social-media",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-15T03:20:57.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Conversation AU",
    "slug": "the-conversation-au",
    "url": "https://theconversation.com/what-might-turning-off-the-algorithm-look-like-chinese-social-media-provides-some-hints-293339"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Albanese government has proposed digital duty of care legislation that includes a \"turn off\" switch for social media users. This would allow Australians to opt out of recommender algorithms and view a news feed populated by accounts they have subscribed to. Following the model of WeChat in China, a platform that has operated with algorithm-free feeds for over a decade, this proposal has been welcomed by online safety advocates. However, the experience of WeChat offers a glimpse into both the potential benefits and drawbacks of such a system.",
  "summary": "If the government’s digital duty of care bill passes, users would be able to switch off algorithms. But this might not be as good as it seems.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}