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Australia’s House passes digital duty of care bill with ban on chatbot emotional intimacy

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Source: The Guardian

Australia’s House of Representatives passed the digital duty of care bill on 28 October 2026. The planned framework would apply new online safety standards to social media, games, apps and chatbots. The government accepted a Kate Chaney amendment requiring platforms to ban material or conduct that simulates emotional intimacy and encourages or fosters a child’s dependence on it in place of human relationships. Communications minister Anika Wells has suggested content promoting misogyny, terrorism, suicide, self-harm and eating disorders would be captured. The Senate will debate the bill in coming weeks, and the government hopes to pass it by the end of 2026, though the Coalition has said it will not vote for it.

Why it matters

If the Senate passes the bill, platforms would have to provide a safe online environment for Australians and ban chatbot material that simulates emotional intimacy and encourages a child’s dependence on it in place of human relationships.

When
28 Oct 2026
ID
WTA-N-2026-0467
Who
Australian House of Representatives, Australian Senate; Anthony Albanese, Anika Wells, Kate Chaney, Sarah Hanson-Young, Sophie Scamps, Cynthia Gebert

Summary by wheresthe.ai, from The Guardian. Checked against the source on 28 Oct 2026.

Read the original at The Guardian

Source copy: download the page as saved on 28 Oct 2026 (PDF). Also held by the Internet Archive.

Earlier in this Storyline: What led hereAustralia says its National AI Standards will make frontier labs prove their safety systems work

Cite this story

WTA-N-2026-0467: “Australia’s House passes digital duty of care bill with ban on chatbot emotional intimacy.” wheresthe.ai, 28 Oct 2026. https://wheresthe.ai/d/au-australia-s-house-passes-digital-duty-of-care-bill-with-b-2026-10/ (source: The Guardian).

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