Australia’s House of Representatives passes the federal government’s Digital Duty of Care bill, which includes a proposed ban on AI chatbots that try to form “emotional intimacy” with children. The measure is now set to move to the Senate.
Across outlets, the core emphasis is the bill’s approach to regulating AI chatbots within broader online safety rules. The Guardian frames the move around Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s warning about children treating these agents like “best friends,” and links the proposal to wider pressure for stronger oversight and complaints mechanisms. The Next Web highlights that the chatbot “emotional intimacy” rule is introduced through amendments by independent MP Kate Chaney. TechRadar focuses on the wider purpose of the bill, including protecting users from harmful content.
While the outlets largely agree on the proposed restriction and the bill’s progress through Parliament, they differ in what they foreground: political context and governance mechanisms in The Guardian, amendment authorship in The Next Web, and the broader harmful-content protections in TechRadar.
