Prime Minister defends social media reforms amid US backlash

In short:

The Prime Minister has said he will "always stand up for Australian interests" amid criticisms from the US about the government's social media reforms.

It comes as US President Donald Trump slapped down the idea of global AI safeguards and rebranded AI as "super intelligence".

What's next?

Regarding global safeguards on AI, Anthony Albanese said he will "wait and see" the outcome of a meeting between Mr Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has pushed back against the Trump administration's "censorship" criticism of Australia's draft digital duty of care laws, as the US President rejected a push from Australia and other countries to impose AI safeguards.

Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Mr Trump announced his government would officially re-brand artificial intelligence as "super intelligence" and underscored his strong opposition to regulating AI.

Late yesterday, the US embassy made a rare submission on Australia's draft domestic laws, saying the reforms would amount to an "extraterritorial censorship of protected speech" and calling on Australia to exempt US social media companies from the legislation.

In New York, Mr Albanese was asked if the Trump administration's comments undermined his fight against global tech giants on the world stage.

"Not at all," he said.

"I'll always stand up for Australia's national interests, and the digital duty of care is something that we've foreshadowed for some period of time," he said, referring to the US embassy's intervention.

"It's not about government control, it's about giving people back control over what they receive on their devices."

The draft legislation would require the tech giants to pre-emptively address harms and paves the way for giving users a choice to opt in to or out of the algorithm.

He stressed the government would "engage constructively" before finalising the legislation.

"I hope the whole of parliament supports it. This should not be a partisan issue," he said.

But Coalition frontbencher Andrew Bragg has echoed the US's censorship concerns.

"I think there is a risk of censorship. There is a risk of bestowing too much power onto unelected bureaucrats," he told ABC Radio National today.

The opposition has previously said the proposed changes would give a "blank cheque for political censorship" and warned they posed a threat to free speech.

Earlier, Mr Albanese spoke on the sidelines of the United Nations about protecting children in the age of AI.

In his address, he defended the proposed changes, saying this was an "inevitable next stage" the government had to take to protect people online.

"With misinformation, disinformation, with the increased polarisation that we're seeing as well in the political system, people are moving away from the centre and more and more to the extremes, be they of the left or the right," he said.

"And that is why we think that this is a very positive move that we are [putting] forward."