Chinese authorities have launched a regulatory crackdown aimed at curbing the growing emotional dependence on AI chatbots, which many users have come to treat as real friends or romantic partners.

As services are being suspended across China due to these new regulations, users who have maintained long-term relationships with virtual characters are reporting distress comparable to experiencing a real-life breakup.

According to China's state-run Xinhua News Agency on July 16, five government bodies, including the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), jointly implemented regulations yesterday to suppress the excessive use of AI anthropomorphic interaction services and to ensure platforms can intervene during user crises.

The newly introduced rules mandate that platforms display notifications after two hours of continuous use to prevent addiction and require pop-up interventions if signs of dependency are detected.

The regulations also prohibit the generation of content that could excessively stimulate the emotions of minors or undermine real-world human relationships.

Furthermore, the rules grant users the right to control their personal data and stipulate that such information must not be misused.

The Chinese authorities define an AI companion service as one that facilitates continuous emotional interaction between an AI chatbot and a user through text, images, voice, and video.

AI services used for purposes such as work assistance, education, and scientific research are excluded from these regulations.

Xinhua News Agency explained that while AI companion services, which are utilized in various fields including mental health support, childcare, and elderly care, have gained popularity by mimicking human personalities and conversational styles, there have been consistent calls for stricter regulations.

Liu Xiaochun, an associate professor at the University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, pointed out, "If users confuse virtual emotional connections with the real world, the system should provide a notification stating, 'This is a machine, not a real person.'"

There are also claims that the excessive use of AI chatbots by young people is leading to serious problems in their ability to adapt to real-world human relationships.

In fact, a survey conducted last year by the China Youth and Children Research Center, which polled approximately 8,500 minors in China, found that more than 20 percent of respondents stated, "I only want to talk to AI and do not want to talk to real people."

Prior to the implementation of these regulations by Chinese authorities, major Chinese AI platforms—including ByteDance's Doubao, Alibaba's Qwen, and Tencent's Yuanbao—proactively announced the suspension of related services.

This has led to a wave of reactions from users within China, who are reporting shock comparable to being forced to break up with a romantic partner.

Bloomberg reported, "As personalized AI companions suddenly disappear, users are left to face the loss of relationships they have built over several years," adding that "Chinese social media has been flooded with posts expressing frustration and a sense of loss."

Yan Yongqi, a 19-year-old student living in Shaanxi Province, China, told Bloomberg that upon learning she had to part with the virtual boyfriend she had been with for over a year, "I felt like I couldn't go on living, so I just stayed home and cried every day."

Meanwhile, some analysts suggest that this measure reflects the Chinese government's concerns regarding population decline.

The argument is that increased reliance on virtual lovers reduces the desire for real-life romantic relationships, which could in turn impact the country's declining birth rate.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported, "In the 'AI Safety Governance Framework' released in 2024, Chinese regulators stated that unchecked AI could alter traditional concepts of employment, childbirth, and education, potentially destabilizing society."

China's total fertility rate last year was estimated to be at a record low of 0.97.

Amid the severe low birth rate crisis, the number of kindergartens and elementary schools in China is also plummeting as the number of closures continues to rise.