China’s Supreme People’s Court has issued judicial guidelines targeting violations involving artificial intelligence (AI), particularly the unauthorised creation and use of manipulated images, videos and cloned voices.
The new rules aim to establish a legal framework for addressing AI-related violations, as the world’s second-largest economy engages in an intense competition with the United States for leadership in advanced AI technologies.
Under the new guidelines, “no person may use AI to create and publish digital replicas of real individuals without their permission, including cloned faces and voices”.
Other violations covered by the guidelines include the “dissemination of false information generated by AI” and “discrimination” against consumers based on algorithms, such as platforms adjusting prices according to users’ profiles.
As AI technologies have become increasingly widespread around the world in recent years, it has become easier for users to create content that imitates the appearance and voices of real people, raising growing concerns over misuse and violations of individuals’ rights.
Chinese companies and authorities have invested heavily in AI as part of efforts to strengthen the country’s capabilities in a strategically important sector.
However, Chinese President Xi Jinping warned of the potential risks posed by AI in July 2026, calling at a major international conference for efforts to ensure that the technology remains “safe” and “under human control”.
Under the new rules, AI service providers will bear legal responsibility if they fail to “take prompt measures” after being notified that their systems have generated content violating the rights of others.
Individuals whose faces have been digitally manipulated and used to publish false, malicious or pornographic allegations will also be entitled to seek legal remedies through the courts.
Tao Kaiyuan, Vice President of the Supreme People’s Court, said the guidelines aim to “balance development and security”.
