{
  "id": 12618,
  "url": "https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1018790/China%20Bans%20AI%20Romantic%20Partners,%20Virtual%20Relatives%20for%20Minors",
  "title": "China Bans AI Romantic Partners, Virtual Relatives for Minors",
  "summary": "The country’s first regulations on AI companion services also set new limits on chatbots designed to simulate emotional bonds with users.",
  "authors": "Chen Yiru",
  "category": "news",
  "topics": "regulation",
  "orgs": null,
  "regions": "china",
  "published_at": "2026-07-21T00:00:00.000Z",
  "fetched_at": "2026-07-22T05:10:49.469Z",
  "source_slug": "x-sixth-tone-cn",
  "source_name": "Sixth Tone (CN)",
  "source_homepage": "https://www.sixthtone.com",
  "ethics_ai_record_url": "https://ethics.ai/record/12618",
  "original_url": "https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1018790/China%20Bans%20AI%20Romantic%20Partners,%20Virtual%20Relatives%20for%20Minors",
  "evidence_status": "source-only",
  "attribution": "via ethics.ai"
}