China's Cyberspace Agency has announced a framework that requires the addition of identifiers to AI generation or synthetic content. Officially title restrictions A scale for identifying synthetic content generated by artificial intelligenceeffective September 1, 2025 and applies to text, images, audio, video, virtual scenes and other formats.
Fengchun Miao, UNESCO's technology chief and AI in education, has spent nearly 20 years leading digital learning and AI policy programs worldwide. In a LinkedIn post, he shared the Chinese framework and its broad interpretation.
Miao described the regulations as unprecedented. “China's regulatory framework for identifying AI-generated AI synthetic content will take effect on September 1, 2025. This may be the first 'law' to regulate AI-generated content. It can have an immediate impact on many business owners and have a widespread impact as other countries catch up. ”
Identifiers and compliance requirements
Miao explained that the regulation requires two types of markers. “Explicit identifiers refer to identifiers added during the generation of synthetic content or interactive scene interfaces that are displayed in the form of text, sound, graphics, etc. and that are clearly perceived by the user,” he writes. “An implicit identifier refers to an identifier added to the data in a synthetic content file through technical scales and is not easily perceived by the user.”
He added that the framework “specifies the categorized missions of AI platforms/app providers, AI app distributors, online content service providers, and users.” You need a specified method to add explicit identifiers for AI-generated and synthetic content in text, audio, images, video, video, virtual scene, video service scenarios, and Met format format formats.
Potential impact on businesses
Miao said the measure would allow companies to reconstruct how they handle the generated output of AI. “It provides for how downstream users apply their right to AI apps or AI-generated content providers with their right to know the source of content,” he said. “It does not cover issues related to copyright recognition of AI-generated content, AI-composite content, and human works mixed with those types of content.”
Going forward, he argued that the rules could change sector costs. “It has a significant impact on business owners across sectors related to AI-generated and synthetic content listed in the graphics. An initial cost may be added to all providers and users of AI-generated synthetic content. However, in the long run, it significantly reduces the cost of hidden violations of regulations and litigation.”
