Anthropomorphic AI Interaction Measures (Decree No. 21)
Issuer: CAC · NDRC · MIIT · MPS · SAMR
Date: 15 JUL 2026
Status: IN FORCE in China, as of 29 JUL 2026
World-first companion rulebook: disclosure each session, 2-hr break prompts, minor companion ban, ≤RMB 200k fines; Doubao/Qwen features shut at deadline.
The world's first dedicated AI-companion rulebook, issued 10 Apr 2026 and in force 15 Jul 2026: AI-identity disclosure each session, 2-hour break prompts, anti-addiction design, a ban on virtual companion/'virtual relative' services for minors, guardian consent for under-14s, opt-in consent for training on interaction data, security assessments at 1M registered / 100k MAU thresholds, fines up to RMB 200k. ByteDance's Doubao and Alibaba's Qwen shut personalized companion features on the effective date.
What it actually requires (4 provisions)
- AI-identity disclosure each session; 2-hour break prompts; anti-addiction design
- Ban on virtual companion services for minors; guardian consent for under-14s
- Security assessments at 1M registered / 100k MAU; fines up to RMB 200k
- Doubao and Qwen pulled companion features at the deadline (chat-history export until 15 Oct 2026)
How its status moved
- ISSUEDJoint Decree No. 21, 10 Apr 2026
- EFFECTIVE15 Jul 2026
- CURRENTJust in force: companion features shut down
Sources (2)
Decree 21: Interim Measures for AI Anthropomorphic Interaction Services
World's first AI-companion rulebook, in force 15 Jul 2026: disclosure each session, 2-hour break prompts, minor bans, fines up to RMB 200k.
S25/S26: AI-companion shutdown
On 15 Jul 2026 ByteDance's Doubao and Alibaba's Qwen shut personalized companion features rather than comply with the new anthropomorphic-AI rules.
The rest of the China stack
12 more instruments in this jurisdiction, each with its own status, provisions and sources.
- Algorithm Recommendation ProvisionsIN FORCEFirst binding algorithm rules; opt-out of feeds; anti-cocoon; created the CAC filing registry.
- Deep Synthesis ProvisionsIN FORCEReal-name, consent of impersonated persons, prominent labeling, algorithm filing.
- GenAI Interim Measures (CAC Order No. 15)IN FORCEPublic GenAI needs security assessment + filing before launch (Art. 17); socialist-core-values content duties.
- CAC filing registriesIN FORCE868 GenAI services + 530 apps (Apr 2026); ~5,672 deep-synthesis algorithms in 14 batches; >5,000 recommendation algorithms; public lists.
- AI Content Labeling Measures + GB 45438-2025IN FORCEDual explicit + implicit labels; platform verification; tampering prohibited.
- Facial Recognition Security MeasuresIN FORCECommercial FR: consent, DPIA, local storage, mandatory-scan bans, 100k-faces filing; state use via PIPL Art. 26 carve-out.
- AI Safety Governance Framework v1.0/v2.0VOLUNTARY / SOFT LAWFirst cross-scenario risk classification; lifecycle duties; agents & embodied AI in v2.0.
- TC260 mandatory/voluntary standardsIN FORCEGB/T 45654-2025, GB/T 45652-2025 (eff. Nov 2025), GB/T 42888-2023; WG9 AI Security Working Group (2026); 400+ standards.
- Comprehensive national AI lawNOT ENACTED2025 legislative plans softened commitment; official draft reported Dec 2025 ⚠; AI provisions instead folded into amended Cybersecurity Law (eff. 1 Jan 2026).
- PBOC Credit Reporting MeasuresIN FORCECredit scoring = licensed business; explainable, traceable, filed models; mainland data storage.
- Shanghai AI Industry RegulationIN FORCEFirst provincial AI law; sandbox, graded management, ethics council; Art. 69 recruitment non-discrimination.
- Global AI Governance Initiative (2023) + Action Plan (Jul 2025)IN FORCE13-point roadmap; proposed Global AI Cooperation Organization, potential Shanghai HQ.
Where this sits in the wider picture
- The China regime dossier gives the doctrine this instrument belongs to, next to the other two jurisdictions.
- The Framework Explorer, filtered to CN lists every instrument in this jurisdiction in one filterable index.
- The governance simulator shows what these rules do to a real AI system, next to what the other two jurisdictions do to the same one.
- The timeline places this date beside what the other capitals were doing that month.
Knowing the instrument is step one. Complying with it is the job.
The programs teach the work that follows a rule like this one: classification calls, conformity assessment, filings, documentation, and the judgment to defend every decision.
VERIFIED 29 JUL 2026. Every fact on this page is drawn from the sources listed above and dated to the day it was checked. Study aid, not legal advice: the official texts are always authoritative.