The AI short drama industry faces a major compliance test

On April 2, the Actors’ Committee of the China Association of Radio and Television Social Organizations (hereinafter referred to as the “China Radio and Television Actors’ Committee”) issued a statement, directly targeting current infringement issues such as AI face-swapping and compositing, voiceprint cloning and reproduction, and arbitrary tampering with film and television materials.

The statement proposes that any entity is prohibited from collecting, using, synthesizing, or distributing related images, voiceprints, and proprietary artistic likenesses without the actor’s written authorization. The statement also specifically emphasizes that even if it is labeled with terms such as “non-commercial use,” “public welfare sharing,” or “personal remix,” all liability for infringement must still be borne.

The statement requires that online platforms such as short-video, livestreaming, and film and television distribution platforms strictly implement the content review subject responsibility, establish a long-term mechanism for verifying authorization of AI performing arts content, and immediately conduct a comprehensive inspection and removal of existing infringing works. AI technology R&D and service platforms must also strengthen their duty of prior review, and strictly verify the authorization credentials for materials uploaded by users, such as actors’ portraits and audio-visual content.

The statement says that the Actors’ Committee of the China Radio and Television Social Organizations will launch nationwide, normalized infringement monitoring, notarization evidence preservation, and batch enforcement actions, and will, in accordance with the law, pursue civil, administrative, and even criminal responsibilities against individuals and institutions that commit malicious infringement, as well as platforms that fail to fulfill their review obligations.

According to incomplete statistics, in 2026 alone—within just the first three months—there have already been multiple infringement-rights cases filed by actors against AI short dramas in China. For example, on March 20, actress Dilraba Dilmurat sued an AI face-swapping short-drama case, won the first-instance judgment, and the court found that the producer and the broadcaster infringed upon the right of portrait. In addition to actors from full-length dramas, voice actors such as Ji Guanhong and Lü Yanting have also publicly called this year for stopping voice infringement.

Liu Zun, Research Director of the DataEye Research Institute, told a reporter from Securities Daily that the statement issued by the Actors’ Committee of the China Radio and Television Social Organizations is a major addition at the industry self-regulation level, forming synergy with regulatory policies. It indicates that AI content regulation has entered a stage of “end-to-end oversight and strong constraints,” accelerating the shuffling of the AI short-drama track.

“For the industry, smaller short-drama teams that rely on ‘stealing faces’ will be quickly eliminated, and industry entry barriers will be significantly raised. Leading platforms and legitimate production companies will accelerate plans for compliant AI content, signing exclusive authorization agreements with actors and promoting the application of AI technology within a compliant framework. The statement released by the Actors’ Committee of the China Radio and Television Social Organizations clarifies the platform’s subject responsibility, and will further change the industry status quo of ‘chasing traffic while overlooking reviews.’ Platforms need to establish an actor-authorization verification system for prior review of AI-synthesized content—content without authorization must not be put online. They must comprehensively inspect and remove existing infringing works, retain infringement data throughout the process, assist with evidence collection and source tracing, and uncompliant platforms will face regulatory penalties and industry accountability. Short-video and short-drama platforms will strengthen control over AI content; AI face-swapping, voice imitation, and other such content will become key objects of review.” Liu Zun said.