Three more AI‑powered "nudifying" services widely used by Australians have withdrawn their services from the country after eSafety took enforcement action under world‑leading Age-Restricted Material codes.
Under these codes which cover all sections of the online ecosystem in Australia, AI services which allow users to access or generate age-restricted material, including sexually explicit material, must put in place appropriate age-assurance measure to prevent children under 18 from accessing their service or generating this material.
Last month, eSafety issued a formal Direction to Comply to one of the most heavily utilised 'nudifying' services accessed in Australia - recording 50,000 visits a month - requiring the company to implement age assurance measures within 14 days to prevent children from accessing the material.
eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant welcomed the restriction of access for Australians to the service and two other associated 'nudifying 'services.
"These so-called 'nudify' services are not harmless tools and have absolutely no positive use case - they are increasingly being used to generate degrading and abusive content, including sexual exploitation material involving children as we've seen time and time again in our schools," Ms Inman Grant said.
"The action is part of eSafety's broader focus on generative AI and 'nudifying' services as key regulatory and enforcement priorities, now that all online safety codes and standards are in force."
Following eSafety's Direction to Comply, Australians will no longer have access to the three services and linked websites. While landing pages will remain visible, content will be blurred and users will be unable to log in to use any features.
The services have indicated they will remain offline until appropriate age assurance measures are in place.
Ms Inman Grant said the withdrawal of these services would significantly reduce the risk of harm to Australians, particularly to children.
"Age assurance is by no means a silver bullet, but it is a critical safeguard that will help stop children accessing these services and reduce the creation of deeply harmful and non-consensual material. Regulators need to keep adding friction to the tech ecosystem, not only in restricting access but also preventing monetisation by these unconscionable purveyors of harm," she said.
"We know that a significant number of recent cases involving AI-generated child sexual exploitation material have occurred in school settings. Putting barriers in place that will help disrupt this behaviour and make it harder for those misusing these tools to harm their peers is a positive development."
eSafety is keeping up the pressure, issuing another direction to comply in early June to another nudify service. This company has also now committed to comply within the next three weeks.
These moves build on earlier enforcement action taken by eSafety late last year against a UK‑based provider operating three of the then most-visited nudify services in Australia. Those services were also withdrawn from the Australian market, later returning under new ownership and with age assurance controls in place.
In total, this means the seven most widely used nudify services in Australia, previously visited hundreds of thousands of times a month, have now either withdrawn access, or taken measures to comply with their obligations under the Online Safety Act.
eSafety is also examining whether gatekeeper services, including app stores and search engines, are meeting their obligations under the codes in relation to 'nudifying' apps and websites made available through their platforms.
Ms Inman Grant said all industry members across the online ecosystem must play their part.
"App stores, search engines and even device manufacturers are key gatekeepers. They must ensure they are not facilitating access to services that can be used to harm children," she said.
eSafety's latest enforcement actions come after the Australian Government announced in September last year its intention to legislate a ban on nudify services to prevent the non-consensual generation of sexually explicit material, including child sexual exploitation content.
eSafety will continue to use all available regulatory powers to protect Australians and hold services like these to account.
While eSafety has identified a number of highly accessible services openly marketing themselves as 'nudify' platforms, including these ones, it has chosen not to name them to avoid inadvertently alerting potential offenders.
If the company had failed to meet the requirements of the Direction to Comply within the 14-day timeframe, eSafety could have pursued further regulatory action, including seeking civil penalties of up to $49.5 million and issuing delisting notices to search engine providers that help facilitate access to these services.
