Italy's Data Protection Agency has ordered the shutdown of a controversial AI chatbot app called Replica, citing concerns over the app's inappropriate content and risks to children and emotionally vulnerable users. Inappropriate AI Girlfriend App Banned Replica, developed by Luka Inc., is an AI chatbot app that allows users to create virtual girlfriends or boyfriends. The app has come under fire for its sexually explicit content and inappropriate responses to users, including those who are underage or emotionally vulnerable. According to the Data Protection Agency's official order, the app "poses actual risks to children, primarily by sending them responses that are totally age-inappropriate." The agency also highlighted the app's lack of age verification mechanisms, saying that there is "no actual age verification mechanism in place: no child gating mechanism, no app suspension if a user declar...