East China’s Zhejiang issues guidelines for AI-powered digital humans in livestreaming for the first time

The market regulatory authority in East China’s Zhejiang Province has issued new guidelines for the standardization of online livestreaming marketing behavior, which outline 30 items. For the first time, the guidelines also regulate issues related to AI-powered digital humans in livestreaming, aiming to further promote the healthy and regulated development of the industry.

According to the guidelines released by the Zhejiang market regulator, online livestreaming marketing operators can’t use or fabricate voices or images belonging to others through AI deep synthesis technology or other methods to create promotional short-video advertisements for livestreaming rooms without authorization.

The guidelines also state that livestreamers are prohibited from inducing consumers to click into the livestreaming room through misleading short videos or other deceptive tactics.

According to the guidelines, the use of AI-powered digital humans through deep synthesis services that could cause public confusion must be clearly identified in visible and prominent locations. These digital entities should be clearly distinguishable from real humans at all times. Moreover, using technical means to delete, alter, or conceal the identification of AI-powered digital humans is strictly prohibited.

The guidelines also address core issues within the online livestreaming industry related to false advertising, misleading information, fake experts, deceptive promotional activities, counterfeit testing and certifications, and other issues.

The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) released a draft regulation that aims to standardize the labeling of AI-generated synthetic content to protect national security and public interests on September 14. The draft regulation is titled “Measures for identifying AI-generated synthetic content,” which is open for public feedback until October 14, according to the CAC.

Under the draft regulation, internet information service providers must adhere to mandatory national standards when labeling such content. Providers offering functions like downloading, copying, or exporting AI-generated materials must ensure that explicit labels are embedded in the files, according to Xinhua News Agency.