A tech industry-backed think tank is urging Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to go head-to-head with American social media giants over plans to regulate them more heavily, even as the companies cosy up to President-elect Donald Trump who they hope will loosen the rules.

Johanna Weaver, the chief executive and co-founder of the Tech Policy Design Institute said Facebook owner Meta’s decision to eliminate its third-party fact-checkers and water down artificial intelligence filters that catch policy violations, showed big tech should not be left to govern itself.