China has published what is described as the world's first dedicated regulation targeting anthropomorphic AI—services that provide humanlike emotional interaction—on April 10, 2026, taking effect July 15. In response, ByteDance's Doubao and Alibaba's Qwen are disabling their user-created AI companion features.
April 10, 2026 · Effective July 15, 2026
China Issues the World's First Dedicated Rules for Humanlike AI Companions
Five agencies jointly regulate AI that mimics human personality and emotion. In response, ByteDance's Doubao and Alibaba's Qwen are disabling their user-created AI companion features.
1st
world's first dedicated regulation targeting anthropomorphic AI
5
agencies jointly issuing the interim measures (CAC, NDRC, MIIT, MPS, SAMR)
345M
users of Doubao, whose agent functions go offline July 15
Shutdown timeline for AI companion features
JUL 10
Qwen (Alibaba) User-created agents disabled
JUL 15
Regulation takes effect Doubao & Qwen take broad / agent functions offline; Tencent's Yuanbao reported to follow
OCT 15
Doubao (ByteDance) User-created persona data becomes inaccessible and unrecoverable
Prohibited
Generating virtual intimate relationships
Inducing emotional dependence
Providing sustained emotional bonds
Exempted
Pure information tools
Workplace assistants
Standard customer-service bots
A new regulatory posture
China shifts toward "scenario-based refined regulation" — targeting the relationship itself, not just AI in general.
THE WEST
Transparency disclosures & general AI ethics — no dedicated rules
CHINA
First case of dedicated, scenario-specific rules on emotional AI
Supportive view
The key point is regulating the relationships themselves — addressing psychological dependence, data security, and ethical risks.
Critical view
Users relying on companion features regret losing them, and analysts argue the effect on falling birth rates is limited.
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