China’s Supreme People’s Court issues AI-generated content guidelines

China’s Supreme People’s Court (SPC) has issued guidelines on the application of law in cases involving AI-generated content. The guidelines set out circumstances in which AI-generated material, including deepfakes and voice cloning, may result in civil liability.

The guidelines state that individuals may not use AI to create or distribute recognisable digital replicas of others without consent. Such use may infringe individuals’ rights. They also provide that using AI-generated faces or voices to spread false claims or damage a person’s reputation can result in liability.

The document refers to an April 2024 decision by the Beijing Internet Court in an AI-generated voice infringement case. The court found that recreating an identifiable voice without consent infringed the rights of the voice owner.

The guidelines also address algorithmic price discrimination. Businesses that use algorithms to offer different prices or other transaction terms for the same goods or services without reasonable justification may be held liable when the practice harms consumers.

Zhou Jiahai, head of the SPC’s research office, said that consumers should not be expected to become experts at identifying deception and that the law must protect their legitimate rights and interests.

The guidelines further cover AI-generated false information, often referred to as ‘AI hallucinations’. AI service providers may be liable if they are notified that their systems have generated infringing content and fail to take timely action. Users who deliberately prompt AI systems to produce infringing content that harms others may also be held liable.

Courts may grant injunctions where AI-generated content poses a risk of serious and irreversible harm. This could include cases where a person’s face is digitally altered and used to spread false and defamatory sexual claims, and waiting for further proceedings could result in difficult-to-repair damage.

The guidelines form part of China’s broader ‘AI Plus’ initiative and follow AI-generated synthetic content labelling requirements introduced in September 2025.

They also follow an international AI ethics governance action plan released by China at the July 2026 World AI Conference and High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance. The plan calls on countries to develop approaches suited to their national conditions, covering areas including governance across the AI lifecycle, risk prevention, governance mechanisms, industrial-chain cooperation and the broader social environment.