Alibaba, Tencent, Others Summoned by Chinese Regulators Over Deepfake Tech

Deepfakes use AI to create hyper-realistic but fake videos or audios where a person appears to say or do something they did not.

By Reuters | Updated: 18 March 2021 17:38 IST

Alibaba, Tencent, Others Summoned by Chinese Regulators Over Deepfake Tech

China has increased scrutiny of its Internet giants, citing concerns over monopolistic behaviour

Highlights

There has been a surge in China in copycats of the audio app Clubhouse
ByteDance is one of many companies working on Clubhouse-like apps
Deepfakes use AI to create hyper-realistic but fake videos

Chinese regulators recently summoned 11 domestic technology companies including Alibaba Group, Tencent, and ByteDance for talks on use of 'deepfake' technologies on their content platforms, stepping up scrutiny of the sector.

China's cyberspace administrator said in a statement on Thursday that it and the public security ministry met with the companies to talk about "security assessments" and potential problems with deepfakes and audio social apps. Kuaishou Technology and Xiaomi also attended the meeting, it said.

All the companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Deep Nostalgia Brings Historical Photos to Life Using AI

Deepfakes use artificial intelligence to create hyper-realistic but fake videos or audios where a person appears to say or do something they did not.

China has increased scrutiny of its Internet giants in recent months, citing concerns over monopolistic behaviour and potential infringement of consumer rights.

Regulators also told the companies to "conduct security assessments on their own" and submit reports to the government when they plan to add new functions or new information services that "have the ability to mobilise society", the statement said.

Microsoft Unveils 'Deepfake' Detector Ahead of US Vote

There has been a surge in China in copycats of the audio app Clubhouse since the US-based chat service was blocked in the country in early February.

Clubhouse was briefly accessible in China, attracting many users who participated in discussions on sensitive topics such as Xinjiang detention camps and Hong Kong independence, before it was shut down by authorities.

TikTok owner ByteDance is one of many companies working on Clubhouse-like apps for the Chinese market, Reuters reported earlier this month.

Other new offerings include Kuaishou's invitation-based Feichuan app and Xiaomi's reworking of Mi Talk app into an invitation-only audio service targeted at professionals.

© Thomson Reuters 2021

Has the Redmi Note 10 Series raised the bar in the budget phone market in India? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.