https://en.people.cn/n3/2026/0210/c90000-20424448.html
On Sept. 1, 2025, China issued regulation for AI contents. AI-generated material published online was required to include both visible labels for audiences and invisible metadata for tracing responsibility.
The regulation came just in time as the AI user base in China expanded quickly and authorities called for tighter oversight. The number of generative AI users in China reached 515 million as of June 2025, up 266 million from December 2024, and nearly doubled in just six months, according to data from the China Internet Network Information Center.
China’s social media platforms have responded quickly. Short-video apps such as Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, and Kuaishou now prompt users to declare whether content is AI-generated, while audio-sharing platforms like Ximalaya add spoken disclaimers and text warnings.
Four months after the rules took effect, major AI content-generation platforms, including Doubao, DeepSeek, Qwen and Yiyan, have attached AI labels to more than 150 billion pieces of generated content, spanning text, images, audio and video. Meanwhile, leading social media platforms have applied prominent on-screen disclosures to more than 220 million items of AI-generated content.
Because implicit labelling allows regulators to quickly identify both the tools used to generate content and the nodes through which it spreads, accountability has become markedly swifter. In one cross-border investigation into AI-generated fake news, the time required to trace responsibility was cut from an average of 72 hours to just 12.
NEW CHALLENGES
As visible labels spread, so do attempts to erase them. A search by reporters across major e-commerce platforms and social-media sites for phrases such as “AI mark removal” reveals a burgeoning grey market. From basic tools costing just 9.9 yuan (about 1.4 U.S. dollars) to bespoke services priced at thousands, an openly advertised business has emerged around evading AI-generated content labelling.
More worrying is the sophistication. According to technical experts, evasion has evolved from simple cropping into a layered process involving metadata cleansing, repeated file-format conversions and cross-platform reposting. Content flagged on one platform may pass unnoticed on another.
Experts and observers say the penalties for violating the labelling rules are yet to be made clearer and the marks are yet to be standardized.