Conceptual diagram of AI Photo: VCG
Several social media platforms in China are cracking down on intellectual property (IP) infringement using artificial intelligence (AI) technology, with popular Chinese video-sharing app Douyin announcing on Thursday that it has removed more than 538,000 videos involved in IP infringement.
According to a statement posted on the company’s public WeChat account, Douyin recently launched a special campaign targeting typical violations involving AI, such as face swapping by AI, unauthorized use of celebrity likenesses, and the generation and distribution of content that infringes intellectual property rights or parody content.
As a result, more than 538,000 videos involved in AI violations have been removed and more than 4,000 violating accounts have been penalized so far this year. Additionally, the platform says it has taken action on over 30,000 instances of inappropriate content and over 1,300 accounts that used the “AI CEO” persona to mislead middle-aged and older users into interactions.
Recently, Tencent’s WeChat enacted new rules mandating that all official and service accounts on the platform prohibit the use of AI, scripts, application programming interfaces, or other automated methods to replace human involvement in content creation and publishing workflows.
Hongguo Short Drama, a Chinese short drama platform owned by ByteDance, announced on April 6 that it had processed 670 short dramas in accordance with the platform’s rules after a targeted review revealed misuse of AI-generated material in the first quarter. According to an announcement on the official WeChat account, the simultaneous inspection was part of a broader inspection of 15,000 works.
The proactive actions of these platforms reflect broader efforts across the digital content industry to crack down on AI-related intellectual property violations, but platforms must continue to strengthen their governance capabilities for the healthy and sustainable development of the AI sector, veteran industry observer Liu Dingding told the Global Times on Thursday.
Liu noted that some positive results have been achieved in this regard. For example, some videos display a notice that they may contain AI-generated content.
“By defending their identity and combating the misuse of AI, platforms are laying a strong foundation for a vibrant, ethical and prosperous digital future,” he said.
At the national level, regulators have increased their oversight in recent years. In January, the National Radio and Television Authority launched a month-long special campaign across the country to curb the spread of inappropriately altered “AI mashup” videos.
This campaign calls on online audiovisual platforms to fulfill their primary responsibilities, increase content review and moderation, decisively remove non-compliant content, and take action against accounts that contribute significantly to these issues.
On April 2, the Actors Committee of the China Federation of Radio and Television Associations issued a statement against such frequent acts of infringement that are currently occurring, such as face swapping and synthesis by AI, voice duplication and duplication, arbitrary tampering and “wild” alteration of film and television footage, and unauthorized capture of actors’ images and voices for training AI models, Xinhua News Agency reported.
Global Times
