Chinese Tech Giants Shut AI Companions After July 15 Rules Ban Emotional Manipulation
Updated
Updated · The Associated Press · Aug 10
Chinese Tech Giants Shut AI Companions After July 15 Rules Ban Emotional Manipulation
3 articles · Updated · The Associated Press · Aug 10
Summary
ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent have pulled popular AI companion services in China after rules effective July 15 barred content that manipulates feelings or drives extreme emotions and unhealthy habits.
The regulation also requires warnings against excessive reliance on such apps and says replacing real-world social interaction cannot be an online service objective.
700,000 words of messages vanished for one 24-year-old user, and social media posts show others protesting, uninstalling apps or trying to move chat histories to revive virtual partners elsewhere.
Experts said Beijing is acting pre-emptively over psychological risks, citing U.S. cases involving young users, though they expect companies to keep developing safer alternatives rather than abandon the category.