BEIJING: China's cyberspace regulator on Friday issued draft regulations to supervise the online development of digital humans, requiring clear labeling and banning services that could mislead children or fuel addiction.
Rules proposed by the Cyberspace Administration of China would require prominent “digital human” labels on all virtual human content and prohibit digital humans from providing “virtual intimate relationships” to minors under 18, according to rules posted for public comment until May 6.
The draft regulation would also ban the use of other people's personal information to create digital humans without consent, or the use of 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, incites subversion of state power, promotes secession or undermines national unity, according to the draft rules.
Service providers are advised to prevent and resist content that is sexually suggestive, depicts horror, cruelty or incites discrimination on ethnic or regional grounds, according to the document. Providers are also encouraged to take steps to intervene and provide professional assistance when clients exhibit suicidal or self-harm tendencies.
China made clear its ambitions to aggressively adopt AI across its economy in the new five-year policy plan issued last month. The push is accompanied by a tightening of governance in the burgeoning 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, establishing 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 simply a question of industrial standards; rather, it has become a strategic scientific problem concerning the security of cyberspace, public interests and the high-quality development of the digital economy,” he added.
