ustralians must prove they are over 18 before they can access adult content such as porn, R-rated video games and sexually explicit AI chatbots under new laws.

The changes will protect children from harmful content, with platforms fined for breaches, Australia's online safety regulator said.

"We don't allow children to walk into bars or bottle shops, adult stores or casinos, but when it comes to online spaces... there are no such safeguards," its commissioner Julie Inman Grant said.

Experts say the new laws - which come three months after Australia introduced an under-16s social media ban - will face similar concerns over data privacy and users trying to trick age-verification technologies.

In Australia, as in many countries, users visiting adult sites are usually asked to verify their age by clicking on a box that says they are over 18.

But the new changes mean platforms must introduce stricter age-verification checks from Monday.

This can include facial recognition technology, digital IDs and credit card details.

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