Instagram warns against mandated algorithm opt-outs

Instagram chief executive Adam Mosseri has warned that forcing social media platforms to offer an algorithm-free feed would leave users drowning in brand posts, according to The Guardian. Australia’s Labor government is planning measures that would require platforms to prompt users to choose between an algorithm-recommended feed and a reverse chronological one, part of a broader push to address online harms. Mosseri did not directly address the specific proposal in a Thursday briefing, but argued that removing ranking would make the experience worse and reduce time spent on the app.

Instagram’s case is that a chronological feed does not restore a simpler, more personal internet; it changes who can afford to be visible. Mosseri said reverse chronology incentivises posting more often, and that those with the resources to post at high frequency gain the most reach. In his telling, friends post less than creators, creators post less than brands and companies — so a feed that simply lists what is newest becomes, in practice, a feed dominated by professional publishers. The company’s warning is also a revenue warning: less time in-app means less inventory to sell, and a weaker promise to advertisers.

The government’s case is that algorithms have become a private system of editorial power with minimal accountability. Instagram itself concedes the system “feels like a black box,” and Mosseri said the company over-optimises for what can be measured while undervaluing what is harder to quantify. That is a polite way of describing a machine tuned to clicks, dwell time, and shares — metrics that are easy to count and easy to monetise. Instagram is now trying to soften the trade-off by offering more user controls, including opt-outs for certain recommendation topics, and Mosseri floated a future in which Meta’s AI models could explain to users why they are seeing particular posts.

Australia’s proposal would turn that internal tuning problem into a compliance requirement: platforms would need to build and maintain parallel experiences, then persuade users to pick the one that keeps them engaged. If Mosseri is right, a mandated “choice” could push some users into a feed that feels worse, then blame the platform for the outcome — while leaving brands and heavy posters with a new advantage that looks like neutrality.

Instagram’s public message is that the algorithm is a shield against spammy volume. The company’s business model depends on keeping the shield in place.