The Supreme People's Court released a guideline on Monday to address the misuse and abuse of artificial intelligence, and bolster the protection of individuals' rights in the digital age.

This marks the first set of judicial rules on the handling of AI-related cases to be released by the country's top court.

The 24-article document responds to hot-button issues that have stirred public debate over the past few years, including AI face-swapping, voice cloning and doxing, providing criteria for identifying those who use AI to infringe on personality rights and holding them accountable.

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According to the guideline, using someone's voice without consent to create synthetic speech that mimics their timbre, tone and speaking style constitutes an infringement of their voice rights.

Similarly, using AI to process a person's name or likeness without permission to create and distribute a recognizable digital avatar is considered a violation of their right to name and likeness.

Zhou Jiahai, head of the SPC's research office, noted that the basic aim of the guideline is to balance development with security.

"It strikes a balance between curbing AI abuses to strengthen judicial protection of people's rights in the digital era, and supporting technological and industrial innovation to safeguard the healthy development of AI," he said.

Si Yanli, deputy head of the office, said that these rights are fundamental to personal dignity and rank among the most essential individual entitlements.

She advocated a tolerant yet prudent approach to balancing the protection of these rights with the growth of the AI industry. However, she noted that tolerance should not be mistaken for permissiveness, nor should prudence be interpreted as acquiescence.

"In practice, many people express their strong concerns about AI deepfakes. AI face-swapping technology can indiscriminately harvest anyone's likeness, making ordinary people potential targets of deepfakes," she said. "AI voice cloning technology can also 'steal' voices at a very low cost, with results that can be convincingly realistic."

Si noted that these issues are key reasons behind the formulation of the guideline and underscore the need to standardize judicial practices across the country — a move that sends a clear message against the misuse of AI technologies that infringe on personality rights.

In recent years, Chinese courts have heard AI-related cases. For example, a 2024 ruling by the Beijing Internet Court found AI voice imitation without consent to be an infringement of personality rights. The case involved a voice-over artist whose recorded audiobooks were used, without her consent, to build a commercial AI text-to-speech product sold on other platforms, and the court ordered compensation.

While calling for an intensified crackdown on those using AI to infringe upon people's name, voice and reputation rights, the guideline also calls for a stronger crackdown on doxing — the practice of obtaining and publicly disclosing others' personal information online.

"Doxing has emerged as a prominent form of cyberbullying, gravely violating victims' privacy, disturbing their daily lives and eroding public security in cyberspace," Si said.

In response, the guideline clarifies that using AI to track and analyze publicly available information about individuals — such as phone numbers, online accounts and social media profiles — to obtain private information, leak it or disclose it should be deemed an infringement upon the right to privacy, and those responsible will face punishment.

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Furthermore, the guideline sets forth provisions concerning consumer rights protection, intellectual property protection and autonomous driving in the context of AI.

Noting the fast-evolving nature of AI, Tao Kaiyuan, vice-president of the SPC, said the guideline deliberately leaves some aspects open-ended, with more specific provisions to follow as experience accumulates.

"We hope to draw clear legal boundaries amid rapid technological change, in order to support innovation while ensuring that AI develops swiftly, soundly and steadily," she added.

Contact the writers at caoyin@chinadaily.com.cn