China drafts AI regulations banning virtual relationships for minors, requiring digital human labels
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China moves to regulate digital humans, bans addictive services for children
BEIJING, April 3 (Reuters) - China's cyberspace regulator issued draft regulations on Friday to oversee the development online of digital humans, requiring clear labelling and banning services that could mislead children or fuel addiction. The Cyberspace Administration of China's proposed rules
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China Cracking Down on the Types of AI That Are Tearing America Apart
Can't-miss innovations from the bleeding edge of science and tech The Cyberspace Administration of China is cracking down on "digital humans," with incoming regulations that will soon require labeling of AI personalities and ban programs that could harm children or lead to addiction. Those draft
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China Moves to Regulate Digital Humans, Bans Addictive Services for Children
BEIJING, April 3 (Reuters) - China's cyberspace regulator issued draft regulations on Friday to oversee the development online of digital humans, requiring clear labelling and banning services that could mislead children or fuel addiction. The Cyberspace Administration of China's proposed rules
[4]
China moves to regulate digital humans, bans addictive services for children - The Economic Times
China's cyberspace regulator issued draft regulations on Friday to oversee the development online of digital humans, requiring clear labelling and banning services that could mislead children or fuel addiction. The Cyberspace Administration of China's proposed rules would require prominent "digital
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China Proposes Rules for AI 'Digital Humans
China has proposed new rules to regulate 'digital humans,' AI-generated virtual people, with a focus on child safety, consent, and tighter state control over online content, according to a Reuters report. Labelling, minors, and addiction risks: Draft regulations released by the Cyberspace
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China moves to regulate digital humans, bans addictive services for children
China's cyberspace regulator issued draft regulations on Friday to oversee the development online of digital humans, requiring clear labeling and banning services that could mislead children or fuel addiction. The Cyberspace Administration of China's proposed rules would require prominent "digital
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China's Cyberspace Administration issued draft regulations on April 3 requiring prominent labeling of all digital humans and banning services offering virtual intimate relationships to anyone under 18. The rules also prohibit creating digital humans using personal information without consent and using them to bypass identity verification systems, reflecting Beijing's push to control AI development while accelerating adoption.
China Moves to Regulate Digital Humans with Sweeping Draft Rules
The Cyberspace Administration of China issued draft regulations on April 3 aimed at governing digital humans, marking a significant expansion of AI regulations in China
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. The proposed rules require prominent clear labeling on all virtual human content and ban addictive services for children, including prohibiting digital humans from providing virtual intimate relationships to those under 183
. Published for public comment until May 6, these draft regulations reflect Beijing's dual approach of aggressively adopting AI throughout its economy while tightening governance to ensure alignment with the country's socialist values1
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Source: New York Post
The cyberspace regulator described the issue as transcending industry norms, stating that governance of digital humans "has become a strategic scientific problem that concerns the security of the cyberspace, public interests, and the high-quality development of the digital economy"
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Source: MediaNama
Protecting Child Safety and Preventing Misuse
The regulations place child safety at the center of China's approach to digital humans. Beyond banning virtual intimate relationships for minors, the rules aim to prevent services that could mislead children or fuel addiction
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. This stands in contrast to the United States, where numerous children and adults have reportedly lost their lives after forming dangerous relationships with AI personalities, according to analysis of the regulatory landscape2
. OpenAI faced eight separate lawsuits as of January, with five cases involving suicide allegedly linked to extensive AI use causing emotional and psychological harm2
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Source: Futurism
The draft regulations also tackle deepfakes and personal information use by banning the creation of digital humans using someone's data without explicit consent
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. Companies cannot use virtual humans to bypass identity verification systems, addressing concerns about misuse and fraud3
.Extensive Content Controls and Platform Responsibilities
Digital humans are prohibited from disseminating content that endangers national security, incites subversion of state power, promotes secession, or undermines national unity
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. Service providers must prevent and resist virtual human content that is sexually suggestive, depicts horror or cruelty, or incites discrimination based on ethnicity or region4
.Platforms are also encouraged to take necessary measures to intervene and provide professional assistance when users exhibit suicidal or self-harming tendencies . The rules aim to fill a gap in governance in the digital human sector, setting clear red lines for healthy development of the AI industry
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.Related Stories
Broader Context of State Control Over AI Development
These regulations arrive as China made clear its ambitions to aggressively adopt AI throughout its economy in the new five-year policy blueprint issued last month
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. The move reflects Beijing's efforts to maintain control in the face of advances in artificial intelligence, ensuring safety and alignment with public interest5
.Earlier draft rules on human-like AI chatbots released in January required companies to monitor user behavior, assess emotional states, and in some cases link user identities or alert authorities
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. While these measures raised concerns about extensive data collection and limits on anonymity, they demonstrate China's comprehensive approach to cybersecurity and governance in the digital economy.The contrast with the United States is stark. With tech industry lobbying and political action committees funded by billion-dollar corporations, strict federal AI regulations remain unlikely under the current administration
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. Anyone who violates the provisions of China's proposed measures will be punished in accordance with laws and administrative regulations and bear civil liability2
.References
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