AI actors resemble real celebrities without consent in China
A Chinese production company released AI-generated digital actors whose faces reportedly resembled real celebrities without their knowledge or consent, sparking controversy over personality rights, potential job displacement, and gaps in legal protections for individual likenesses.
What happened
Youhug Media publicly announced two AI-generated digital actors named Lin Xiyan and Qin Lingyue to star in an upcoming 60-episode short drama.
Internet users pointed out that the digital characters' faces appeared to be a "face fusion" that strongly resembled real Chinese celebrities including Zhao Jinmai, Zhang Zifeng, and Liang Jie.
Reported impact
Actors, models, and creative artists expressed fears that their likenesses and professional identities were being systematically scraped and cloned into digital doubles without permission or compensation.
Internet users pointed to potential job losses that AI actors could cause.
Index analysis
Under China's Civil Code, natural persons have the right to their likeness, which includes "externally identifiable features" that allow public recognition of a specific individual.
The existing law had not been tested against AI-generated faces that approximate rather than directly copy real people, creating a transparency gap companies could exploit.
Short dramas featuring AI actors accounted for almost 40% of the top 100 animated short dramas in January 2026, up from under 10% a year earlier.
Governance controls
Youhug Media claimed the AI actors' images were generated "without copying or using the facial features of any real individual," raising questions about accountability.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.