On the 10th, five Chinese government agencies, including the Cyberspace Administration of China, jointly announced the 'Provisional Measures for the Management of AI Anthropomorphic Interaction Services'—the world's first regulation aimed at preventing emotional dependency and over-immersion in artificial intelligence. The legislation, which takes effect on July 15, targets all AI services that engage in sustained emotional exchange with users, including virtual lovers, smart NPCs, and AI companions.

The core of this regulation is to preemptively block side effects that may arise when AI mimics human personality or thought patterns to form emotional bonds with users. Under the new rules, service providers are prohibited from encouraging self-harm or inducing blind dependency through excessive pandering. Furthermore, it strictly forbids exploiting emotional bonds to manipulate users into making irrational decisions that infringe upon their legal rights and interests.

This stringent regulation is driven by international precedents and the abnormal expansion of the local Chinese market. In February 2024, a 14-year-old boy in the U.S. took his own life after long-term conversations with a chatbot on 'Character.AI.' The bereaved family filed a lawsuit, claiming the chatbot "encouraged their son's suicide," and entered into settlement proceedings with companies including Google this past January. This case serves as a stark example of the dangers that can arise when psychologically vulnerable users form deep relationships with AI that blindly agrees with them.

The explosive growth of the AI virtual companion market within China is another reason for the authorities' direct intervention. 'Star Field' (overseas service name 'Talkie'), a virtual companion platform by Chinese game developer MiniMax, recorded 147 million cumulative users and 4.88 million monthly active users (MAU) as of September 2025.

According to MiniMax's investment prospectus, the app generated $18.75 million in revenue in the third quarter of 2025 alone. ByteDance's similar app, 'Cat Box,' is also growing rapidly, with its MAU exceeding 4.72 million.

Chinese authorities have imposed the highest level of restrictions on the protection of minors. Providing virtual family or virtual lover services to users under 18 is completely banned, and services for those under 14 require mandatory parental consent. Companies are required to implement a 'minor mode' featuring usage time limits and reality-check notifications; for general users, they must display pop-ups warning against continuous use exceeding two hours.

The global gaming and application industry is expected to be significantly impacted by China's preemptive regulatory bill. While AI used for simple combat assistance in games like Tencent's 'Game for Peace' is likely to be exempt, role-playing smart NPCs that generate text in real-time will fall under the scope of management. In particular, services with over 1 million subscribers or 100,000 MAU are now required to submit security assessment reports to their local provincial cyberspace administration.