Australia mulls forcing app stores, search engines to axe unsafe AI services

South China Morning Post · Mar 2, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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Australia’s internet regulator said it might push search engines and app stores to block artificial intelligence services that failed to verify user ages after a review found more than half had not made public any steps to comply by a deadline next week.The warning reflects one of the most aggressive efforts globally to rein in AI companies, which face a growing number of lawsuits for failing to stop – and even encouraging – self-harm or violence, while researchers caution that such platforms are more harmful to youth mental health than social media.Australia in December became the first country to ban social media for teenagers, citing mental health concerns, prompting an outpouring of world leaders saying they would do the same.The country now says it is spearheading a similar crackdown on AI by putting age restrictions on the content people can access with the technology.From March 9, internet services in Australia including search tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and lesser-known companion chatbots must restrict Australians under 18 from receiving pornography, extreme violence, self-harm and eating disorder content or face fines of up to A$49.5 million (US$35 million).A teenager holds a mobile phone displaying a message from Instagram after the account was locked for age verification in Sydney on December 9, 2025. Photo: AFP“eSafety will use the full range of our powers where there is non-compliance,” the commissioner said, including “action in respect of gatekeeper services such as search engines and app stores that provide key points of access to particular services”.