Interim Measures for the Management of Generative AI Services
In plain wordsChina'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.
Regulations issued on July 10, 2023 by the Cyberspace Administration of ChinaCyberspace Administration of China, prop. n.: China'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. with six other agencies, in force since August 15, 2023, that govern generative AIgenerative AI, n.: AI that produces something new on request, such as an essay, a picture, a song or a piece of code, having absorbed from enormous numbers of existing examples what such things typically look like. services offered to the public in mainland China. Providers must ensure that content upholds 'core socialist values' and does not endanger national security or spread prohibited information; work to make their training data more accurate, objective and diverse while using only lawfully sourced material that respects intellectual property and, for personal information, consent; follow data-annotation rules; label generated content in line with 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. rules; guard against discrimination; protect minors from excessive dependence; and remove and report illegal content. Services capable of shaping public opinion or mobilizing society must pass a security assessment and complete 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. before launch. Research and development not offered to the public is exempt, and the final text softened an April 2023 draft that had required outputs to be true and accurate.
The chatbot could not launch in China until it cleared the security assessment under the Interim Measures.
Origin
Released in draft by the Cyberspace Administration of China on April 11, 2023, months after ChatGPT's launch, and finalized in July 2023, making China one of the first jurisdictions with binding rules specific to generative AI. Co-issuers include the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministries of Education, of Science and Technology, of Industry and Information Technology and of Public Security, and the National Radio and Television Administration.
Usage note
Called interim to allow revision. In practice it operates alongside the algorithm-recommendation (2022), deep-synthesis (2023) and 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. (2025) rules and the AI clause added to the Cybersecurity Law from January 2026. State Council legislative plans have listed a comprehensive AI law since 2023.
Related
- 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.
- Cyberspace Administration of ChinaCyberspace Administration of China, prop. n.: China'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.
- generative AIgenerative AI, n.: AI that produces something new on request, such as an essay, a picture, a song or a piece of code, having absorbed from enormous numbers of existing examples what such things typically look like.
- EU AI ActEU AI Act, prop. n.: The European Union's law on artificial intelligence, the first broad AI law anywhere: it bans some uses, sets strict checks for risky ones and puts duties on the makers of the biggest AI models.
Sources
- Cyberspace Administration of China et al. (2023). 生成式人工智能服务管理暂行办法 (Interim Measures for the Management of Generative Artificial Intelligence Services).
- DLA Piper. Artificial Intelligence in China (regulatory tracker).
Defined in law or standards
Interim Measures for the Management of Generative Artificial Intelligence Services (CAC and six other agencies, 2023)
Mentioned in
Cyberspace Administration of ChinaCyberspace Administration of China, prop. n.: China'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., 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.