China's draft rules would bar AI companions for minors

The Cyberspace Administration of China published for public comment on 18 September 2026 a draft State Council regulation on safeguarding minors’ healthy and safe use of the internet. The 25-article text, carried by Xinhua, would prohibit service providers from offering minors virtual kinship, virtual companion or other simulated intimate-relationship services, the category that covers AI companion apps built to act as a friend, partner or relative.

The same draft would require age verification on platforms and a “minor mode” on devices and apps, bar algorithms designed to create dependency or excessive spending, ban stranger social networking for minors with an exception for working 16- and 17-year-olds, and keep children under 16 from publishing on livestream services. Comments are open until 17 October 2026.

It is a draft, not a rule in force, and the final text can change. As written, it names simulated intimate relationships as a category of service that a child may not be offered, rather than regulating the content of such services.