China moves to regulate digital humans, bans addictive services for children

The draft rules ban creating digital humans or bypassing ID systems without consent

A man looks at his mobile phone while standing on a balcony overlooking the central business district in Beijing, China Dec 15, 2020. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo

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 human" labels on all virtual human content and prohibit digital humans from providing "virtual intimate relationships" to those under 18, according to rules published for public comment until May 6.

The draft regulations would also ban the use of other people's personal information to create digital humans without consent, or using virtual humans to bypass identity verification systems, reflecting Beijing's efforts to maintain control in the face of advances in artificial intelligence.

Digital humans are also prohibited from disseminating content that endangers national security, inciting subversion of state power, promoting secession or undermining national unity, the draft rules said.

Service providers are advised to prevent and resist content that is sexually suggestive, depicts horror, cruelty or incites discrimination based on ethnicity or region, according to the document. Providers are also encouraged to take necessary measures to intervene and provide professional assistance when users exhibit suicidal or self-harming tendencies.

China made clear its ambitions to aggressively adopt AI throughout its economy in the new five-year policy blueprint issued last month. The push comes alongside tightening governance in the booming industry to ensure safety and alignment with the country's socialist values.

The new rules aim to fill a gap in governance in the digital human sector, setting clear red lines for the healthy development of the industry, according to an analysis published on the cyberspace regulator's website.

"The governance of digital virtual humans is no longer merely an issue of industry norms; rather, it has become a strategic scientific problem that concerns the security of the cyberspace, public interests, and the high-quality development of the digital economy," it added.