Tencent's WeChat breaks ranks to ban digital influencers in live streaming

Chinese social media giant Tencent Holdings plans to ban digital hosts powered by artificial intelligence (AI) on its live-streaming commerce platforms, as Beijing tightens controls over AI-generated content.

Weixin Channel, WeChat's video platform, has published a draft of new rules covering "low-quality content", which noted that the use of "plug-ins, AI and other tools to generate avatars for live streaming" was not allowed.

"Teaching and selling virtual human software" will also be regarded as "confrontational behaviour" and prohibited, according to the draft.

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The new draft rules come as authorities have cracked down on the use of AI technologies for creating virtual avatars. Internet regulator, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), has requested that local providers of generative AI services must take measures to prevent the dissemination of discriminatory content and false information, according to CAC's proposed regulation published last April.

Tencent said online hosts who violate the rules will have their live-streaming exposure reduced by the company's algorithm, and more serious violators will have their e-commerce function limited.

Tencent's motive for changing the rules was to "encourage more [live] anchors to have real-time interaction with viewers", according to people familiar with the matter.

The draft rules are open for comments from June 7-13, and Tencent will review feedback from live streamers, according to the people.

Li Chengdong, founder of Beijing-based consultancy Dolphin, said the changes were designed to protect the interests of the platform. "Since the cost of creating avatars is super low, one individual can create hundreds or even thousands of avatars in a short period of time, which could impact real-life anchors and disrupt the market," Li told the Post.

Despite the growing scrutiny of "virtual humans", China's top live streaming platforms continue to allow AI-powered avatars. The market was worth 20.52 billion yuan (US$2.8 billion) last year, and is forecast to more than double to 48.06 billion yuan in 2025, according to iiMedia Research.

Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com has embraced the concept. In April, the avatar of its founder and chairman Richard Liu Qiangdong debuted on its platform. Liu's avatar hosted two live-streaming sessions to promote consumer electronic devices and groceries, attracting more than 20 million views combined.

A smartphone with the WeChat logo is seen in front of the flag of the People's Republic of China. Photo: Shutterstock Images alt=A smartphone with the WeChat logo is seen in front of the flag of the People's Republic of China. Photo: Shutterstock Images>

JD.com rival Alibaba Group Holding, which owns the Post, does not prohibit the use of or promotion of avatars on its live-streaming platforms. On Taobao's online shopping channel, there are hundreds of vendors providing digital human-related services, including creating clones for clients and providing courses for building digital hosts. These services are priced from 20 yuan to 8,000 yuan.

Alibaba Cloud has also promoted its digital human services, saying they can serve as live-streaming hosts and shopping assistants to provide round-the-clock services, at a cost of 5,749 yuan a month for each 3D avatar, according to its website.

Although Douyin, the Chinese version of ByteDance's global hit short video app TikTok, has not banned virtual humans in live streaming, it rolled out a set of rules last May asking digital creators to label any content generated by AI, in compliance with China's new regulations on "deep fake" technologies.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

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