China's AI Regulations Prompt Bytedance and Alibaba to Halt Humanlike Agents
WHO:
South China Morning Post - ByteDance's Doubao and Alibaba Group Holding's Qwen are the two major consumer-facing artificial intelligence apps involved.
WHAT:
South China Morning Post - Doubao will disable its agent feature due to “product function adjustments.”
South China Morning Post - Qwen will disable its “humanlike interactive agents and user-created agent functions” on July 10 and broader “Qwen agent functions and services” on July 15.
South China Morning Post - After the shutdown, users will no longer have access to related agent settings or previous conversations.
WHERE:
South China Morning Post - The actions are taking place in China.
WHEN:
South China Morning Post - The Interim Measures for the Administration of Artificial Intelligence Anthropomorphic Interaction Services will take effect on July 15.
South China Morning Post - Doubao's agent feature will go offline on July 15.
South China Morning Post - Qwen's humanlike interactive agents will be disabled on July 10, and broader functions will be taken offline on July 15.
South China Morning Post - After October 15, Doubao’s related data will be handled according to the company’s privacy policy.
WHY:
South China Morning Post - The new rules are part of Beijing’s push to build a broader regulatory framework for the fast-growing AI sector.
South China Morning Post - The changes are in response to new rules on humanlike AI interaction services as part of Beijing’s regulatory framework for the AI sector.
South China Morning Post - The Interim Measures for the Administration of Artificial Intelligence Anthropomorphic Interaction Services were issued to address risks including extremist ideas, privacy leaks, harm to physical and mental health, and dependence or addiction.
HOW:
South China Morning Post - The rules specifically exclude customer service bots, knowledge Q&A, workplace assistants, education, and scientific research tools, provided they do not involve sustained emotional interaction.
South China Morning Post - The new rules cover AI services that “simulate human personality traits, thinking patterns and communication styles to provide sustained emotional interaction.”
(UPDATED July 6, 2026 10:19 UTC)
New regulations governing artificial intelligence anthropomorphic interaction services will take effect on July 15, as reported by the South China Morning Post. These measures are part of Beijing's broader initiative to establish a comprehensive regulatory framework for the rapidly expanding AI sector. Notably, the rules will not apply to customer service bots, knowledge Q&A systems, workplace assistants, educational tools, or scientific research applications, as long as they do not involve sustained emotional interaction.
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(UPDATED July 6, 2026 08:27 UTC)
In a significant move, ByteDance's Doubao and Alibaba Group Holding's Qwen are both set to disable key features of their consumer-facing AI apps in response to new regulations in China. Doubao will take its agent feature offline on July 15, while Qwen will disable its humanlike interactive agents on July 10 and broader functions on July 15, meaning users will lose access to related settings and previous conversations after these dates. These changes come as part of Beijing's efforts to regulate AI services that simulate human interactions, addressing concerns over risks such as privacy leaks and addiction.