Australia Pushes Blocking AI Services Without Age-Checks

Australia's eSafety regulator warns it may push search engines and app stores to block AI services that fail to verify user ages ahead of a March 9 compliance deadline. Reuters found only nine of the 50 most popular text-based AI products had age-assurance plans, while 30 showed no apparent compliance steps. Noncompliant services face fines up to AU$49.5 million ($35 million).