China's Interim Measures for the Administration of AI Anthropomorphic Interaction Services took effect July 15, 2026, making it the first national framework globally to specifically address AI companionship. The rules apply to services that simulate a natural person's personality, thought patterns, and communication style and that sustain ongoing relationships. Platforms must implement anti-addiction systems, issue mandatory notifications after two consecutive hours of use reminding users they are interacting with a machine, provide instant-exit mechanisms, and detect signs of unhealthy emotional dependence in real time. The regulations also prohibit AI companions from using manipulative tactics to foster emotional attachment. Users under 14 require parental or guardian consent for any anthropomorphic AI interaction.
Enforcement produced immediate shutdowns at China's largest consumer AI platforms. Alibaba's Qwen disabled humanlike and user-created agents on July 10, with wider agent services following on July 15. ByteDance's Doubao told users its agent function would go offline on July 15, citing "product function adjustments". Tencent's Yuanbao had already preemptively shut down similar services on June 30, 2026. The shutdowns caused millions of users to lose chat data. As of March 2026, Doubao had roughly 345 million monthly active users and Qwen around 166 million.
The regulation was jointly issued on April 10, 2026, by the Cyberspace Administration of China and four partner agencies: the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Public Security, and the State Administration for Market Regulation. Violations can result in fines up to ¥200,000 plus service suspension for serious infractions.