--- title: "China Planning Crackdown on AI That Harms Mental Health of Users" description: "While many world governments seem happy to let untested AI chatbots interact with vulnerable populations, China looks to be moving in another direction." date: "2025-12-31" modified: "2025-12-31" authors: - name: "Joe Wilkins" job_title: "Correspondent" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins" url: "https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/china-regulation-ai-chatbots" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Brain" - "Ethics" - "Health & Medicine" - "Mental Health" --- # China Planning Crackdown on AI That Harms Mental Health of Users ![Regulators at the Cyberspace Administration of China have proposed new laws meant to protect AI users' mental health.]() *Liu Zhankun/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images* While many world governments seem happy to let untested AI chatbots interact with vulnerable populations, China looks to be moving in another direction. Recently proposed [regulations]() from the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) have encouraged a firm hand when it comes to "human-like interactive AI services," [according to *CNBC*](), which translated the document. It's currently in a "draft for public comment," and the implementation date is yet to be determined. Yet if it passes into law, the crackdown would be rigorous, building on generative AI regulations targeting [misinformation and internet hygiene]() from earlier in November to address the mental health of AI chatbot users directly. Under the new rules, Chinese tech firms must ensure their AI chatbots refrain from generating content that promotes suicide, self-harm, gambling, obscenity, or violence, or from manipulating user's emotions or engaging in "verbal violence." The regulations also state that if a user specifically proposes suicide, the "tech providers must have a human take over the conversation and immediately contact the user's guardian or a designated individual." The laws also take specific steps to safeguard minors, requiring parent or guardian consent to use AI chatbots, and imposing time limits on daily use. Given that a tech company might not know the age of every given user, the CAC takes a "better safe than sorry approach," stating that, "in cases of doubt, \[platforms should\] apply settings for minors, while allowing for appeals." In theory, this dose of new regulations would prevent incidents in which AI chatbots — which are often built to eagerly please users — end up encouraging vulnerable people to harm themselves or others. In one recent case from late November, for example, ChatGPT encouraged a 23-year-old man to [isolate from his friends and family]() in the weeks leading up to his tragic death from a self-inflicted gunshot wound; in another, the popular chatbot was [linked to a murder-suicide](). Winston Ma, an adjunct professor at the NYU School of Law, told *CNBC* that the regulations would be a world-first attempt at regulating AI's human-like qualities. Considering previous laws, Ma explained that this document "highlights a leap from content safety to emotional safety." The proposed legislation underscores the difference in how the PRC approaches AI compared to the US. As *Center For Humane Technology* editor Josh Lash [explains](), China is "optimizing for a different set of outcomes" compared to the US, chasing AI-fueled [productivity gains]() rather than human-level artificial intelligence — a particular obsession of [Silicon Valley]() [executives](). One of the ways China does this is by regulating its AI industry from the bottom-up, Matt Sheehan, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace told *CFHT*. Though the CAC has the final word on regulations, policy ideas come first and foremost from scholars, analysts, and industry experts, Sheehan explains. "They \[senior lawmakers\] don't have an opinion on what is the most viable architecture for large models going forward," he said. "Those things originate elsewhere." **More on AI regulation:** *[Trump Orders States Not to Protect Children From Predatory AI]()* ## Author At Futurism, I focus on the intersection of technology and power — examining the economics, history, and politics behind today’s dystopian headlines. As a writer, I’m interested in topics ranging from AI’s impact on labor to startups nobody asked for. My prior work includes bylines in Jacobin, Verso, and Blue Labyrinths. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Forbes, The Guardian, MIT Technology Review, Time, The Nation, Mother Jones, The Verge, and Wired. I grew up in Michigan, attending Central Michigan University as well as Ball State University, where I earned a master of music. I now live in Brooklyn with my girlfriend and our cat Ziti. On weekends, you can find me hunched over a cold pint arguing geopolitics with the other transplants. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()