Cyberspace Administration of China
In plain wordsChina's top internet authority, in charge of online censorship as well as regulation, which also writes and enforces most of the country's AI rules, such as the registration of chatbots and recommendation algorithms.
China's national internet regulator, which shares staff and leadership with the Chinese Communist Party's Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission ('one institution, two names'), and the lead authority for the country's AI rules. It oversees online content, cybersecurity, data protection and cross-border data transfers, and drafted or co-issued the main AI-specific regulations: the algorithm-recommendation provisions (2022), the deep synthesisdeep synthesis, n.: The Chinese legal term for AI that creates or alters text, images, voices, video or virtual scenes — the technology behind deepfakes — and for the rules that govern it. provisions (2023), the Interim Measures for the Management of Generative AI ServicesInterim Measures for the Management of Generative AI Services, prop. n.: China's 2023 rules for chatbots and other AI that generate text, images, audio or video for the public, requiring lawful training data, content controls, labeling and, for many services, government approval before launch. (2023), the AI-generated content labelingAI-generated content labeling, n.: Marking text, images, audio or video as made by AI — with a visible notice, hidden data in the file, or both — so that people and platforms can tell synthetic content from real. measures (2025) and 2026 measures on human-like interactive AI services such as AI companions. It runs the algorithm filingalgorithm filing, n.: China's requirement that companies register certain algorithms — such as recommendation feeds and chatbots — with the internet regulator, describing what they do and how their risks are controlled. system and the security assessments that generative models must pass before public launch, which include testing whether models produce politically sensitive content. Other bodies, notably the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the national cybersecurity standards committee TC260, share responsibility for AI standards, industrial policy and ethics review.
The Cyberspace Administration of China summoned the company over its chatbot's answers about history.
Origin
Established in 2011 as the State Internet Information Office and reorganized in 2014, under Xi Jinping, as the executive office of a new central leading group on cybersecurity and informatization, which was upgraded to the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission in 2018.
Usage note
Its central role makes Chinese AI regulation fast-moving and agency-driven: rules usually arrive as departmental measures within months rather than as legislation, though State Council legislative plans have listed a comprehensive AI law since 2023.
Related
- Interim Measures for the Management of Generative AI ServicesInterim Measures for the Management of Generative AI Services, prop. n.: China's 2023 rules for chatbots and other AI that generate text, images, audio or video for the public, requiring lawful training data, content controls, labeling and, for many services, government approval before launch.
- algorithm filingalgorithm filing, n.: China's requirement that companies register certain algorithms — such as recommendation feeds and chatbots — with the internet regulator, describing what they do and how their risks are controlled.
- deep synthesisdeep synthesis, n.: The Chinese legal term for AI that creates or alters text, images, voices, video or virtual scenes — the technology behind deepfakes — and for the rules that govern it.
- AI-generated content labelingAI-generated content labeling, n.: Marking text, images, audio or video as made by AI — with a visible notice, hidden data in the file, or both — so that people and platforms can tell synthetic content from real.
- AI governanceAI governance, n.: The rules, institutions and habits that shape how AI is built and used — from laws and treaties to technical standards and a company's own review processes.
Sources
- DLA Piper. Artificial Intelligence in China (regulatory tracker).
Mentioned in
Interim Measures for the Management of Generative AI ServicesInterim Measures for the Management of Generative AI Services, prop. n.: China's 2023 rules for chatbots and other AI that generate text, images, audio or video for the public, requiring lawful training data, content controls, labeling and, for many services, government approval before launch., algorithm filingalgorithm filing, n.: China's requirement that companies register certain algorithms — such as recommendation feeds and chatbots — with the internet regulator, describing what they do and how their risks are controlled., deep synthesisdeep synthesis, n.: The Chinese legal term for AI that creates or alters text, images, voices, video or virtual scenes — the technology behind deepfakes — and for the rules that govern it.