Search engines will be required to blur pornography and high-impact violence as tech giants prepare to comply with Australia’s social media ban.
The new rules will come into effect on December 27 as part of the online watchdog’s bid to protect children from being accidentally exposed to harmful internet content.
About one in three young people first encountered pornography unintentionally before they turned 13, according to research conducted by eSafety.
The majority of young people – 71 per cent – who unintentionally came across the content ignored it, though some described unintentional encounters as frequent, unavoidable and unwelcome.
“We know that a high proportion of this accidental exposure happens through search engines as the primary gateway to harmful content,” eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said.
“Once a child sees a sexually violent video, for instance maybe of a man aggressively choking a woman during sex, they can’t cognitively process, let alone unsee that content.”
Ms Inman Grant expects this will cause search engines to operate in a similar manner to safe search modes already available on Google and Bing.
Australians seeking information related to suicide, self-harm and eating disorders will be redirected to appropriate mental health services under further requirements from the eSafety Commissioner.
Google and Bing already offer helplines when users search for suicide on their websites.
“It gives me some comfort that if there is an Australian child out there thinking about taking their own life, that thanks to these codes vulnerable kids won’t be sent down harmful rabbit holes or to specific information about lethal methods, but will now be directed to professionals who can help and support them,” Ms Inman Grant said.
In the US, ChatGPT’s parent company Open AI is being sued by the family of a 16-year-old over allegations the chatbot encouraged him to die by suicide.
The generative AI platform currently responds with a list of helplines if users enter the term “suicide” into the chatbot.
Ms Inman Grant clarified the code would not require Australians to create an account to search the internet, nor would it notify the government if anyone is searching for porn.
These new rules are separate from the social media ban, which will require tech giants to prevent Australians under 16 from creating an account on platforms like Youtube, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and more.
Though the measure is being challenged in the High Court, a hearing will not take place until at least February 25, meaning the ban will still take effect from Wednesday.
Social media companies will face fines of up to $49.5 million if they fail to comply with the rules.
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