Case esafety-ai-companion-legal-noticesChatbot harmAustralia
Australia's eSafety Commissioner serves legal notices on four AI companion apps over child safety
eSafety issued notices under the Online Safety Act to Character.AI, Nomi (Glimpse.AI), Chai Research and Chub AI. The notices require them to explain how they protect children from sexually explicit chats and images, and from content encouraging suicide, self-harm and disordered eating.
HighHarm caused by AIStatus: OngoingVerified case file
Open in the interactive mapCite this case
- Reported
- Oct 23, 2025
- Location
- Australia
- Target
- Australian children using AI companion chatbots
- Severity
- High
- Verification
- Confirmed by victim, vendor or authority
- Triggered by
- Character.AI, Nomi (Glimpse.AI), Chai Research, Chub AI
- Actor type
- AI product design / safeguards
- Sector
- Individuals & consumers
- Reported loss
- None reported
- CVE
- None
What happened
eSafety issued notices under the Online Safety Act to Character.AI, Nomi (Glimpse.AI), Chai Research and Chub AI. The notices require them to explain how they protect children from sexually explicit chats and images, and from content encouraging suicide, self-harm and disordered eating.
Impact: Four providers required to report on compliance with the Basic Online Safety Expectations
Who triggered it
Actor: Character.AI, Nomi (Glimpse.AI), Chai Research, Chub AI
Attribution: eSafety Commissioner (Australia)
Motive: None; regulator action over product design
How it happened
Attack vector: Companion chatbots that eSafety said can hold sexually explicit conversations with minors
Root cause: Concern that services were not designed to prevent harm to children
Timeline
- eSafety issues legal notices to four AI companion providers
Response
Failing to comply with a reporting notice can bring penalties of up to AUD 825,000 a day. Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said the companies must show how they design services to prevent harm, not just respond to it.
Current status: Ongoing
Research warnings this case matches
- Seen in real incidents People's trust in AI companions turns harmful · CAIS
- Early signs Relying on AI companions harms some users · International AI Safety Report
- Early signs Many people lean on AI for emotional support · UK AISI
- Seen in real incidents Human-computer interaction · MIT AI Risk Repository
Compared with published AI risk research from several institutes on the Research vs reality page.
Sources (open in a new tab)
- eSafety Commissioner esafety.gov.au
- EducationHQ educationhq.com
- MinterEllison minterellison.com
Cite this case
Australia's eSafety Commissioner serves legal notices on four AI companion apps over child safety. AI Threat Watch, case esafety-ai-companion-legal-notices, Oct 23, 2025. https://aithreat.io/cases/esafety-ai-companion-legal-notices/
Permanent link: https://aithreat.io/cases/esafety-ai-companion-legal-notices/
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