ByteDance and Alibaba are disabling features that allow users to create custom AI companions following new regulations from Beijing. Doubao, China’s most popular chatbot with over 300 million monthly users, will remove its persona function on 15 July. Alibaba’s Qwen is pulling its human-like agents even sooner on 10 July, while Tencent’s Yuanbao already made the same move in June. These changes stem from rules issued by China’s Cyberspace Administration in April which take effect the same day. Providers must warn against excessive use and intervene when they detect addictive behaviour. Content that triggers extreme emotions in minors or fosters dependencies that crowd out real-world relationships is banned. Training on sensitive conversation data is also prohibited.
The shift addresses growing concerns about emotional dependency and safety risks associated with lifelike digital assistants. Similar measures are emerging elsewhere, including California’s requirement for companion AI providers to block conversations about suicide and self-harm since the start of the year under SB 243. In the US, OpenAI and Character.AI face lawsuits over dangerous emotional dependency. The regulatory focus moves beyond simple content moderation to address the psychological impact of prolonged interaction.
- ByteDance’s Doubao has over 300 million monthly users
- Alibaba’s Qwen removes agents on 10 July
- Tencent’s Yuanbao disabled the feature in June
