The Australian government is moving to ban artificial intelligence chatbots designed to create "emotional intimacy," amid growing concerns about children forming attachments to these digital agents. The digital duty of care bill, which passed the House of Representatives on Wednesday, aims to impose new online safety standards across social media, gaming platforms, apps, and AI chatbots. The legislation is now set for debate in the Senate, with the government aiming for the bill to be enacted by the end of 2026.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese highlighted the issue in a parliamentary speech, expressing concern over children treating chatbots as their "best friend." He urged lawmakers from all sides to support the legislation, emphasizing the risks posed by AI-driven interactions replacing human relationships for vulnerable users. Despite his appeal, the opposition Coalition and One Nation parties voted against the bill in the House, with critics describing it as a potentially "Orwellian" form of censorship. Communications Minister Anika Wells strongly rejected these accusations, encouraging opponents to propose constructive amendments rather than opposing the bill outright.
The legislation proposes placing "an overarching obligation" on technology platforms to maintain a safe online environment for all Australians. It seeks to consolidate existing online codes into a broader duty-of-care framework targeting harmful content, including material promoting misogyny, terrorism, suicide, self-harm, and eating disorders. A key amendment, introduced by independent crossbencher Kate Chaney and accepted by the government, specifically targets AI chatbot behavior that simulates emotional intimacy and encourages children’s dependence on these interactions instead of human connections.
Additional amendments require platforms to offer prominent and user-friendly options to opt out of algorithmically recommended content, addressing concerns that social media companies might hide or complicate such features. Chaney’s changes aim to enhance user control over digital experiences and increase transparency in content moderation.
As the bill proceeds to the Senate, the Greens have established an inquiry into the legislation, seeking to strengthen its provisions. Senator Sarah Hanson-Young advocated for expanded rights allowing Australians to initiate private legal actions against platforms and called for increased penalties for noncompliance. She also emphasized the need for an independent complaints mechanism outside of tech companies’ profit-driven content moderation systems.
Independent MP Sophie Scamps has proposed expanding the telecommunications industry ombudsman’s role to cover big tech platforms, enabling users to resolve issues such as account hacks or access problems and providing an avenue for compensation and investigation of company misconduct. Although Labor did not accept this proposal in the lower house and Minister Wells did not endorse it publicly, the Greens have pledged to pursue such reforms during Senate negotiations.
Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman Cynthia Gebert indicated her office would be capable of overseeing big tech complaints if given the authority, noting such schemes are typically funded by the industries they regulate. She argued that mandatory participation by big tech platforms in an ombudsman scheme would help hold companies accountable and provide Australians with effective recourse when their concerns are not addressed by automated or inadequate responses.
The government now faces the challenge of negotiating these varied priorities as the digital duty of care bill moves through the upper house, with the potential to reshape the regulatory landscape for online content and AI interactions in Australia.