Australia could ask Apple to block AI apps based on age check rules

Following last year’s introduction of a ban on social media apps aimed at young people, Australia is now tightening age verification requirements for AI apps. Here are the details:

AI apps come under scrutiny for mental health issues

Last year, Australia became the first country to ban social media apps aimed at young people, marking the first national initiative to protect young people’s mental health.

The move follows growing global concerns about the mental health effects of social media on young users, a debate that has intensified since the publication of books such as Jonathan Haidt’s An Anxious Generation.

Starting March 9, AI platforms, including services from companies like OpenAI, will have to comply with a set of requirements designed to prevent users under 18 from accessing pornographic, extreme violence, self-harm, or eating disorder content.

The move also addresses concerns about excessive use of chatbots among teenagers, including concerns that emotionally manipulative design features could foster addiction, while the effects of these tools are still unclear.

Australia has not yet received any reports of violence or self-harm related to chatbots. [eSafety] Children as young as 10 are reportedly spending up to six hours a day talking with AI-powered interactive tools.

An eSafety spokesperson said: “We are concerned that AI companies are using emotional manipulation, anthropomorphism and other sophisticated techniques to lure young people into engaging and over-using chatbots.”

As part of the new rules, Reuters App stores and search engines have reported that they may need to block access to non-compliant AI services.

Australia’s internet regulator said it may ask search engines and app stores to block artificial intelligence services that fail to verify users’ ages, after a Reuters investigation found more than half had not published compliance measures by next week’s deadline.

when Reuters Apple declined to respond to a request for comment.

Still, the company has deployed age-related safeguards across its platform to comply with age-restriction laws around the world, including systems that rely on signals automatically detected by devices. Adoption of these APIs and compliance with local requirements is ultimately the responsibility of individual developers.

Returning to Australia, Reuters Compliance also remains limited, with most of the 50 most popular text-based AI tools reporting no clear steps to implement age verification or content filtering ahead of the fast-approaching deadline.

to read Reuters‘For the full report, click this link.