Radio National Breakfast Sweeping new laws come into effect to protect children online
Mar 8, 2026
Julie Inman-Grant, Australia's eSafety Commissioner who oversees online safety regulation, discusses new laws forcing platforms to add age checks and stronger safeguards. She explains industry-developed codes, how age verification will work, and the world-leading inclusion of AI chatbots. She warns companies about enforcement and penalties while outlining why these measures target real harms to children online.
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Digital Rules Mirror Physical Age Protections
- New online safety codes bring longstanding physical-world child protections into the digital realm.
- Julie Inman Grant compares online age limits to bars, adult shops and casinos to show parity between offline and online safeguards.
Require Robust Privacy Preserving Age Verification
- Platforms hosting R18 or X+ content must implement robust, privacy-preserving age verification.
- Julie Inman Grant warns simple self-declare buttons won't pass and bans mandatory government ID or privacy-invasive checks.
AI Companions Now Covered By Child Safety Rules
- The new codes include AI companions and chatbots, marking one of the first global protections targeting AI-caused harms to children.
- They require companies to prevent chatbots from providing suicidal ideation or incitement to suicide.