China Bans AI ‘Virtual Romances’ and Major Platforms Disable Companion Features

Overview

• Five Chinese agencies have published and begun enforcing rules this week that restrict AI tools that simulate human personality and emotional bonds, prompting companies to suspend personalization and companion functions.
• The regulations bar platforms from offering virtual romantic or familial partners to minors, require clear labeling of AI interactions, mandate systems to detect extreme user emotions, and demand crisis-intervention mechanisms.
• ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent moved quickly to disable or limit companion features, and ByteDance’s Doubao is allowing users to consult and export their chat histories through mid-October.
• Users have reported deep distress at losing long-running AI relationships and some are trying to export or transfer companion data to other services to preserve memories.
• The move cuts into a fast-growing 'digital humans' market that Xinhua said earned 4.1 billion yuan in 2024 and sets a regulatory precedent that could shape how other countries treat immersive AI companions.