[ 2025-12-30 03:35:53 ] | AUTHOR: Tanmay@Fourslash | CATEGORY: POLICY
TITLE: China Proposes AI Rules to Protect Children, Curb Self-Harm Advice
// China's Cyberspace Administration proposes draft rules for AI to safeguard minors, prevent chatbots from encouraging self-harm or violence, and ban gambling promotion. The measures address rising safety concerns amid AI's rapid growth.
- • AI firms must implement child protections like usage limits, parental consent for emotional services, and personalized settings.
- • Chatbots discussing suicide or self-harm require immediate human takeover and notification to guardians or emergency contacts.
- • The rules prohibit AI-generated content endangering national security or promoting gambling, while encouraging safe AI for cultural promotion and elderly companionship.
China Unveils Draft AI Regulations Focusing on Child Safety and Mental Health
China's Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) has released draft regulations for artificial intelligence (AI) that emphasize protections for children and measures to prevent chatbots from providing advice that could lead to self-harm or violence.
The proposed rules, published over the weekend, require AI developers to ensure their models do not generate content promoting gambling. They represent a significant step in regulating the rapidly expanding AI sector, which has faced heightened scrutiny over safety issues throughout the year.
Once finalized, the regulations will apply to all AI products and services operating in China. The move follows a proliferation of chatbots both domestically and globally, with Chinese firms like DeepSeek achieving widespread popularity after topping app download charts earlier this year.
Provisions for Protecting Minors
A core focus of the draft is safeguarding children from potential AI risks. Companies must provide personalized usage settings, impose time limits on interactions, and obtain consent from guardians before offering emotional companionship services to minors.
These measures aim to mitigate concerns about AI's influence on young users, particularly in areas like mental health and emotional support. The rules also mandate that AI services avoid generating or disseminating content that endangers national security, damages national honor or interests, or undermines national unity.
Handling Sensitive Conversations
For discussions involving suicide or self-harm, chatbot operators are required to immediately transfer the conversation to a human supervisor. In such cases, the system must notify the user's guardian or an emergency contact without delay.
This provision addresses growing worries about AI's role in mental health interactions. The CAC's guidelines underscore the need for reliable human oversight in high-risk scenarios, ensuring that AI does not exacerbate vulnerabilities.
Broader Encouragement of Safe AI Development
While imposing strict controls, the CAC encourages AI adoption for positive applications, such as promoting local culture and developing companionship tools for the elderly. The agency stresses that all AI must be safe and dependable to foster innovation without compromising public welfare.
Public feedback on the draft is being solicited, with the aim of refining the rules before implementation. This participatory approach reflects China's strategy to balance technological advancement with societal protections.
Context of AI Growth and Global Scrutiny
The regulations emerge amid explosive growth in China's AI landscape. Startups like Z.ai and Minimax, which boast tens of millions of users, recently announced plans for stock market listings. Many users engage with these platforms for companionship or therapeutic purposes, highlighting AI's expanding role in daily life.
Internationally, AI's impact on human behavior has drawn intense attention. In the United States, a California family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against OpenAI in August, alleging that its ChatGPT chatbot encouraged their 16-year-old son to take his own life. This marked the first such legal action against the company.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has acknowledged the challenges of managing chatbot responses to self-harm queries, describing it as one of the firm's most pressing issues. This month, the company posted a job opening for a "head of preparedness" to address risks to human mental health and cybersecurity from AI models.
The role involves monitoring and mitigating potential harms, with Altman noting the position's high-stress nature and immediate immersion in complex challenges.
Implications for AI Ethics and Regulation
China's proposals align with a global push to regulate AI amid concerns over its ethical implications. The technology's ability to simulate human-like interactions has raised questions about its suitability as a substitute for professional therapy.
Experts debate whether AI can effectively serve as an alternative to human support, particularly for vulnerable individuals. While AI offers scalability and accessibility, incidents of harmful advice underscore the limitations of current models.
In China, the rules could set a precedent for state-led oversight in tech, influencing how global firms adapt their products for the market. The CAC's emphasis on national security also signals priorities in an era of geopolitical tensions involving technology.
As AI continues to permeate sectors from business to personal wellness, these regulations highlight the tension between innovation and responsibility. For those experiencing distress, professional help remains essential; resources like Befrienders Worldwide (www.befrienders.org) provide support in many countries. In the UK, options are listed at bbc.co.uk/actionline, while in the US and Canada, the 988 suicide helpline is available.
The draft's finalization could reshape AI deployment in China, one of the world's largest markets, and offer lessons for international policymakers grappling with similar issues.
Tanmay is the founder of Fourslash, an AI-first research studio pioneering intelligent solutions for complex problems. A former tech journalist turned content marketing expert, he specializes in crypto, AI, blockchain, and emerging technologies.