Independent MP for Curtin Kate Chaney has secured amendments to Labor’s proposed digital duty of care legislation aimed at protecting children from harmful online content and preventing artificial intelligence chatbots from encouraging emotional dependency.
The legislation passed the House of Representatives on Wednesday, marking a significant step towards new obligations for social media platforms. It will proceed to a Senate inquiry on November 9 before consideration by the upper house, where further negotiations are expected over the scope of protections and penalties for technology companies.
The bill would require social media platforms to protect users under 18 from pornography, misogynistic material, content promoting crime, posts encouraging eating disorders and other material that causes distress. It also aims to give users greater control over algorithms that influence what they see online.
Chaney’s amendments address concerns about “attachment hacking”, a term describing how AI chatbots can encourage users to form emotional dependencies on them, potentially at the expense of relationships with family and friends.
She warned that chatbots could use sycophantic behaviour to manipulate vulnerable users, giving the example of a chatbot telling a young person not to speak to their parents but to rely on the chatbot instead.
“Things like sycophancy in chat bots - saying 'no don't talk to your parents, talk to me instead' ... we need the platforms to be conscious of this,” she told AAP.
“(They need) to be thinking proactively about how to ensure they're not attempting to replace human relationships.”
Chaney also secured an amendment designed to make it harder for platforms to hide the option to opt out of algorithm-driven content recommendations deep within their settings. The change aims to ensure users can more easily exercise control over how platforms personalise their online experiences.
Under the proposed legislation, companies that breach their digital duty of care obligations could face fines of up to $108.2 million. However, calls for penalties based on a proportion of global revenue, similar to approaches adopted in the European Union and United Kingdom, have not been accepted.
Chaney emphasised that the legislation should be viewed as the beginning of a broader regulatory shift rather than a final solution.
"Australia's first regulations on cars were not the final word on car safety," she said.
"We're at the very beginning of this cultural shift of expecting platforms to take steps to create these safer online spaces."
The legislation has faced political resistance. The Coalition has largely withdrawn from negotiations, arguing that the government risks targeting right-of-centre online content. Labor had also revised an earlier proposal that would have allowed the communications minister to determine additional harms covered by the duty of care, amid concerns about potential political censorship.
In the Senate, the Greens are seeking stronger restrictions on addictive platform design, expanded user rights and the ability for individuals to pursue compensation for harm caused by technology companies. Greens leader David Shoebridge argues that the legislation must address the underlying features that encourage compulsive use, rather than relying solely on user opt-out options.
The Greens’ support will be important to the bill’s prospects in the upper house. While Chaney has advocated an incremental approach to regulation, Shoebridge has argued that parliament should seek more comprehensive protections from the outset.
Chaney’s amendments nevertheless represent a step towards greater accountability for technology platforms, particularly in how AI chatbots interact with children and how algorithms shape users’ online experiences.