diff --git a/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/buildeventstream/BuildEventProtocolOptions.java b/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/buildeventstream/BuildEventProtocolOptions.java
index 2ffb42fade668b..9713ff8b42d201 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/buildeventstream/BuildEventProtocolOptions.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/buildeventstream/BuildEventProtocolOptions.java
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ public class BuildEventProtocolOptions extends OptionsBase {
 
   @Option(
     name = "legacy_important_outputs",
-    defaultValue = "true",
+    defaultValue = "false",
     documentationCategory = OptionDocumentationCategory.LOGGING,
     effectTags = {OptionEffectTag.AFFECTS_OUTPUTS},
     help = "Use this to suppress generation of the legacy important_outputs field in the "