Amazon advertising project AI voice cloning alleged by Chinese voice actress
A Chinese voice actress claims Amazon's "Sailor Star Plan" advertising series used AI-cloned versions of her voice in episodes she did not record. She says she voiced episodes 1-3 in September 2025 but heard similar-sounding narration in episodes 4-7 released in November, without her consent or knowledge.
What happened
Voice actress Mu Xueting announced on November 5-6, 2025, that she had recorded voiceovers for episodes 1-3 of Amazon's advertising series 'Sailor Star Plan', but heard nearly identical voiceover in episodes 4-7 released in November that she did not record.
Mu said she had no further recording sessions after September 2025 despite being told six more episodes would need voicing. She suspects her voice was used to train and clone an AI voice model without permission.
Reported impact
The Amazon advertising videos were removed from all platforms including Weibo, Douyin, Xiaohongshu and Amazon's official website after the dispute emerged.
Mu said production company Black Also Culture's settlement offer was unacceptable and that she had retained lawyers and planned to file a lawsuit.
Index analysis
The dispute highlights gaps in AI copyright awareness. Mu noted that while voice actors have begun adding AI-prohibition clauses to formal contracts since 2023, advertising work often lacks written agreements, relying instead on in-person sessions and WeChat communication.
China's Civil Code added 'voice right' protection in 2020, modeled on portrait rights. A Beijing Internet Court ruling in April 2024 found that using someone's voice for AI training without permission infringes voice rights, even if the original recording copyright was held by another party.
Governance controls
Black Also Culture stated it was responsible for third-party supplier coordination on the project but denied direct involvement in AI voice use, offering only an apology for 'work negligence'.
As of November 12, 2025, Amazon China had not publicly responded to the allegation and was internally reviewing the matter, according to sources close to the company.
Classification
Sources and evidence
Sources not yet published
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