China Top Court Labels AI Clones Personality Rights Violation, First AI Guidelines

Digital face and voice replicas created without consent now constitute a legal violation in China following a judicial decree from the Supreme People's Court. Issued on September 7, the 24-article opinion holds both the person typing the prompt and the company serving the model accountable for infringing output. Victims may seek rapid injunctions for cloned faces or voices used to spread defamatory claims, including sexual defamation, to prevent irreparable harm.

The court's guidance extends to liability for AI hallucinations that damage rights and algorithmic price discrimination, referred to as “killing the familiar,” where different prices are shown to customers for the same good without justification. These guidelines provide a national judicial map for lower courts and follow September 2025 labeling rules for AI-generated content, responding to the proliferation of high-quality cloning tools accessible via mobile phones.