Instagram chief Adam Mosseri has pushed back against Australia’s new algorithm plan. He warned that removing ranking would create a worse user experience. Specifically, he told Australian reporters the feed would grow far less engaging. Additionally, he cautioned it would significantly reduce creator reach.
The response follows Australia’s “My Feed, My Way” proposal directly. That plan would let users over 16 opt out of algorithms. Consequently, those users would see only accounts they actively follow. Platforms ignoring the rules could face fines exceeding A$100 million.
“What ends up happening is the best way to get more reach is just to post more often and those who can afford to post the most often do and then therefore get the most reach,” he said. “And it turns out your friends post a lot less than creators, who post a lot less than brands and companies.”
Mosseri’s central warning focused on what replaces the algorithm. Without ranking, he argued, frequent-posting accounts quickly dominate feeds. Specifically, businesses and brands post far more than ordinary creators. Therefore, the feed drifts toward brands and news publishers.
He also linked the change to a shrinking engagement cycle. Without algorithms, people become less interested and use Instagram less. Consequently, the overall reach available to everyone gets smaller. He claimed users then grow frustrated as their reach declines.
“What happens is people become a bit less interested in the experience and they use it a lot less, which then means that there’s less reach to go around and people start to get more and more mad about the fact that their reach is going down because the overall pie gets smaller.”
Notably, Mosseri downplayed genuine demand for the change. He claimed only a “vocal minority” actually wants chronological feeds. Furthermore, he predicted people would regret the shift if enacted. He made these comments while launching an “Algo Confessions” series locally.
However, the Australian government frames the issue very differently. Ministers cited alarming figures about harmful content targeting young users. Reportedly, young boys encounter violent misogynistic content within 23 minutes. Consequently, officials see reduced algorithmic amplification as a safety measure.
Australia’s treasurer publicly backed the plan this week too. He argued the algorithms are “not doing us a lot of good.” Meanwhile, some advocates say the opt-out does not go far enough. They instead push for an opt-in model requiring active choice.
“It’s this interesting tension between what an individual might want and what happens when you actually explode that to the entire community,” he said. “That’s not to say that ranking is perfect, it’s not, we make mistakes – one of the things that frustrates me about ranking is that we end up over-optimising for things that we can measure and undervaluing things that are more difficult to measure.”
Their reasoning highlights a key weakness in opt-out systems. Most users never dig through settings to change defaults. Therefore, an opt-in approach would shift behavior far more effectively. Australia follows the EU, which mandated similar options since 2024.
