• China proposes rules to protect children from harmful content
• Human oversight and guardian consent required in sensitive cases

China has proposed strict regulations to govern the use of artificial intelligence technologies, aiming to protect children and prevent chatbots from giving advice that could lead to self-harm or violence.

The planned rules would require developers to ensure AI models do not generate content promoting harmful activities.

If officially adopted, these regulations would apply to all AI products and services in China, representing a major step toward regulating this rapidly growing technology, which has faced intense scrutiny this year due to safety concerns.

The draft rules, published over the weekend by the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), include measures to protect children, such as personalized settings, usage time limits, and obtaining guardian consent before providing emotional companionship services.

The administration stated that any conversation related to self-harm must be immediately handled by a human and the guardian or emergency contact must be notified.

AI service providers must also ensure their systems do not produce or share content that threatens national security, damages national honor, or undermines national unity.

The CAC added that the rules encourage positive AI applications, such as promoting local culture or offering companionship tools for the elderly, provided the technology is safe and reliable, while inviting public feedback on the proposals.