China just told its citizens to stop falling in love with chatbots and start falling in love with each other. The country’s Cyberspace Administration, along with associated agencies, rolled out the Interim Measures for the Administration of AI Anthropomorphic Interactive Services on July 15, 2026, targeting AI applications that simulate emotional interactions.
The rules explicitly ban virtual intimate-relationship services for minors. For adults, the regulations require that AI services avoid fostering emotional dependency. In a country that recorded just 7.92 million births in 2025, a birth rate of 5.63 per 1,000, Beijing is making the calculation that digital companionship and real-world reproduction are a zero-sum game.
What the rules actually do
The regulations zero in on what regulators call “human-like” AI applications. Think chatbots that remember your birthday, call you pet names, and simulate the kind of emotional intimacy that might otherwise motivate someone to, say, go on an actual date.
For minors, the line is absolute: no virtual intimate relationships, period. For adults, the approach is more nuanced but still restrictive, requiring platforms to ensure their AI companions don’t create the kind of emotional dependency that keeps users glued to their screens instead of building real human connections.
