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‘Emotional intimacy’ from AI chatbots would be banned under Australia’s digital duty of care laws

Guardian Australia reports that the digital duty of care bill passed Australia's House of Representatives with an amendment requiring platforms to ban chatbot conduct that simulates emotional intimacy with children. The Senate takes it up next; the Coalition says it will not vote for it.

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Why it matters

The same thing, for different readers.

What it means for you

If the bill becomes law in Australia, platforms would have to stop chatbots that act like a child's best friend and encourage dependence on them over human relationships.

For lawmakers

Australia's government accepted an amendment from crossbencher Kate Chaney to put chatbot emotional intimacy into a platform duty of care; the bill's route through the Senate is unclear.

For researchers

The amendment's wording turns on conduct that fosters dependence, which would require platforms and regulators to define and measure it.

The question it raises

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's remarks treat a chatbot being called a best friend as a public concern, raising the question of what relationships with non-persons should be allowed for children.

In their own words

Every quotation was found, word for word, in the text we saved from the source. That shows the words are there; it does not make them true, or prove the speaker meant them as quoted.

From the source’s own text.

“the stories we hear about people identifying a chatbot, a non person as their best friend, should be a huge wake up call for every member of this Parliament to be prepared to act.”
Anthony Albanese, prime ministerAlbanese in an address to Parliament on Tuesday night, urging the Coalition to vote for the digital duty of care bill.
Found word for word in the sourceAs quoted in the text we read, not the speaker’s own text or a transcript of their wordsSaid on October 27, 2026
“the government accepted amendments from crossbencher Kate Chaney which would add certain AI chatbot activity to the list of harms, 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””
The GuardianThe Guardian's own account of the amendment accepted in the House of Representatives.
Found word for word in the source
“It risks leaving Australians in the safe place they are now, where they get automated responses or escalation procedures that don’t go anywhere.”
Cynthia Gebert, telecommunications industry ombudsmanThe telecommunications industry ombudsman on what the bill lacks without an external complaints pathway.
Found word for word in the sourceAs quoted in the text we read, not the speaker’s own text or a transcript of their words

The record

Questions
How is AI changing childhood, health and daily life? · Who can demand evidence, delay a release or stop an unsafe deployment?
People
Josh Butler (Wrote it) · Anthony Albanese (Speaks, prime minister) · Anika Wells (About them, communications minister) · Kate Chaney (About them, crossbencher) · Cynthia Gebert (Speaks, telecommunications industry ombudsman) · Sarah Hanson-Young (Mentioned, Senator) · Sophie Scamps (Mentioned, independent MP)
What we read
We read the whole source.
Found by
The Radar, run of October 28, 2026, via the-guardian-ai (tier 2: a major outlet’s own reporting)
Cite this
The Guardian, “‘Emotional intimacy’ from AI chatbots would be banned under Australia’s digital duty of care laws”, October 28, 2026. Entry in the Ctrl AI Base, https://ctrlai.com/base/guardian-2026-10-28-australia-chatbot-emotional-intimacy
Our notesAlbanese's remark is quoted inside the Guardian's report, so it is reported speech. The Tuesday date is inferred from the article's 'Tuesday night' on a Wednesday 28 October piece.