China to Bar Unauthorized Deepfakes and Cloned Voices Under New Judicial Rules

China has issued new judicial guidelines targeting abuses of artificial intelligence, including the creation of deepfakes and cloned voices without consent.

Announced by the Supreme People’s Court, the rules establish criteria for litigation involving AI, a strategically important sector in which Beijing competes with the United States. State news agency Xinhua said the guidelines make clear that people cannot use AI to create or distribute recognizable digital replicas of others without permission, including cloned faces and voices.

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These guidelines make clear that people cannot use AI to create or distribute recognizable digital replicas of other people without their consent, including cloned faces and voices.

The disputes covered by the rules also include algorithmic price discrimination and false information generated by AI. Technologies that convincingly reproduce real people’s appearance and voices have become increasingly widespread, allowing users to create such content with relative ease.

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strengthen awareness of risks and ensure that AI is safe and controllable

The guidelines allow legal recourse for people whose digitally altered faces are used to spread false and defamatory sexual allegations. Service providers may also face legal responsibility if they fail to act quickly after being notified that their systems generated content violating other people’s rights.

Chinese President Xi Jinping called for greater awareness of risks and urged steps to ensure that AI remains safe and controllable. Supreme People’s Court Vice President Tao Kaiyuan said the guidelines aim to “balance development and security.”

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balance development and security