Australia to Force Apple to Remove AI Apps Without Age Checks

• Australia's eSafety regulator warns AI apps lacking age verification for minors could face removal from app stores.
• Platforms failing to comply by March 9 risk penalties up to $35 million, impacting Apple's App Store.
• Regulators are expanding focus beyond social media to AI services, especially chatbots exposing minors to harmful content.
• Only 9 out of 50 surveyed AI platforms fully implemented age-verification systems; many lack proper filtering or reporting.
• Concerns also raised about excessive chatbot use by children, with some spending up to six hours daily interacting with AI.