China announces nationwide campaign against AI misuse

China has launched a nationwide three-month campaign to crack down on artificial intelligence misuse to further regulate AI services and applications, and better promote the healthy and orderly development of the industry.

The campaign, led by the Cyberspace Administration of China, the country's top internet regulator, is divided into two phases. The first is removing illegal AI applications and strengthening the identification of AI-generated content, while the second focuses on the crackdown on those who impersonate others through AI, or use the technology to create and spread rumors, false information or pornographic materials.

During the first phase, major targets of cyberspace administrators include those who provide services to the public by leveraging generative AI but fail to complete the filing or registration procedures, as well as those who clone or edit others' biometric information, including voice and facial features, without obtaining consent.

Individuals and departments offering tutorials on creating deepfake videos or cloning voices with AI technology, selling illegal AI products such as voice synthesizers or face-swapping tools, or failing to label AI-powered content for users will also be cracked down during the first phase, the administration said.

Additionally, cyberspace administrators nationwide will intensify the fight against those using AI to mislead students and patients, or disrupting the order of financial market, it added.

It emphasized that the job of the second phase is to remove illegal and harmful content generated by AI, such as fake news regarding education, justice, healthcare and finance and information related to pornography, violence and horror.

Those who apply the technology to impersonate experts, entrepreneurs or celebrities to attract online views or defraud others, and who post AI-generated content to harm children or infringe upon the legitimate rights of deceased people, public figures or historical figures, should also be combated during the second phase, it added.

The administration has called on cyberspace departments across the country to realize the risks of misusing AI, urging them to tighten inspections on internet platforms to ensure the better application of the technology.