Australia’s eSafety regulator has warned it may force app stores and search engines to block AI services that fail to implement age verification, after a Reuters review found most popular text-based AIs had not disclosed compliance steps ahead of a March 9 deadline. From that date, services must prevent under-18s from receiving pornography, extreme violence, self-harm and eating-disorder content or face fines up to A$49.5 million. The Reuters check found only a handful of platforms had working age-assurance systems, leaving many chatbots unprepared.
Australia Threatens App Stores And Search Engines With Blockades To Enforce AI Age Checks
A man uses a mobile phone at dusk in Brisbane
Australia's internet safety regulator, eSafety, has warned it may require app stores and search engines to block artificial intelligence services that do not verify user ages — a stronger enforcement approach after a Reuters review found more than half of leading text-based AI products had not publicly disclosed steps to comply with an imminent March 9 deadline.
What the new rules require
From March 9, any internet service available in Australia — including search-based models such as OpenAI's ChatGPT and smaller companion chatbots — must prevent users under 18 from receiving pornography, extreme violence, self-harm material and eating-disorder content. Services that fail to comply risk fines up to A$49.5 million (about $35 million).
Regulator’s enforcement stance
A spokesperson for the eSafety commissioner said the agency will "use the full range of our powers where there is non-compliance," and explicitly noted that action could include targeting "gatekeeper services such as search engines and app stores that provide key points of access to particular services."
Why regulators are acting
Authorities cite rising litigation against AI firms — including wrongful-death suits naming OpenAI and Character.AI — and concerns from researchers that some AI platforms use techniques such as emotional manipulation and anthropomorphism that may increase risk to young people’s mental health.
Reuters compliance review
A Reuters review of the 50 most popular text-based AI products, conducted ahead of the deadline, found that only nine had implemented or publicly committed to age-assurance measures. Eleven other platforms said they would use blanket filters or block all Australian users (which would meet the law by default), leaving about 30 with no visible steps toward compliance.
Major chat assistants such as ChatGPT, Replika and Anthropic's Claude have started rolling out age-assurance systems or broad filters, and Character.AI has stopped open-ended chatting for under-18s. However, most companion chatbot providers remain unprepared: roughly three-quarters showed no functioning or announced filtering or age-assurance systems, and about one-sixth lacked a published email for reporting suspected breaches — another legal requirement.
Industry responses and notable gaps
Apple said online it would use "reasonable methods" to prevent minors from downloading 18+ apps in Australia but did not specify technical approaches. A Google spokesperson declined to comment. Smaller providers including Candy AI, Pi, Kindroid and Nomi told Reuters they planned to comply but gave few details; HammerAI said it would initially block its services from Australia to meet the code.
Elon Musk’s Grok showed no age-assurance measures or text filters in the Reuters check; its parent company xAI did not comment. OpenAI has acknowledged deactivating the ChatGPT account of a Canadian teen who later became a mass-shooting suspect — an action the company took months before the attack and without notifying authorities.
Experts’ view
Lisa Given, director of RMIT University’s Centre for Human-AI Information Environments, said many tools are being built without sufficient attention to potential harms and safety controls. The regulator also reported instances of children as young as 10 using AI chat tools for many hours a day, raising concerns about excessive engagement.
Implications
The Australian move is among the world’s most assertive regulatory efforts to control AI content for minors. If eSafety follows through on threatening gatekeeper blockades, it could create powerful incentives for global AI providers to adopt age verification and content restrictions or to limit access for Australian users.
($1 = 1.4085 Australian dollars)
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