Source: Global Times

China’s Supreme People’s Court issued a guideline for handling AI‑related disputes that addresses widely publicized harms including AI‑generated face‑swapping and voice cloning, AI hallucinations, doxxing, big‑data price discrimination, autonomous driving and AI model training. The guideline is described as the top court’s first set of judicial rules on AI disputes and is framed as filling gaps while China awaits a dedicated AI law; it instructs courts to apply existing statutes such as the Civil Code, Cybersecurity Law, Copyright Law and Personal Information Protection Law when resolving cases. The guideline declares that deliberate AI‑enabled crimes that threaten state security, infringe citizens’ rights or disrupt social order will attract severe legal punishment, while innovative acts in AI development and use should be handled prudently, respecting principles of legality and proportionality in criminal responsibility and punishment.

The guideline specifies that AI‑generated digital avatars using a person’s name or likeness without consent can constitute an infringement of personality rights and that unauthorized voice cloning can infringe voice rights; misuse of such avatars or voices to spread false information or damage reputation may incur liability, and close relatives of deceased persons are allowed to seek civil remedies for infringements on the deceased’s rights. It clarifies liability rules covering violations of personality rights, personal information rights and consumer rights, and outlines responsibility frameworks for generative AI service providers, AI products and traffic accidents involving autonomous or driver‑assistance vehicles. The guideline leaves unsettled issues open pending accumulation of experience, and calls for stronger dispute prevention and resolution, case guidance, judicial oversight, enhanced inter‑agency coordination and international judicial cooperation.