Chinese regulators crack down on AI-powered marketing harassment calls
China's state broadcaster exposed the widespread use of AI-powered voice-cloned robots by outbound call companies to make unsolicited marketing calls to consumers, exploiting regulatory gaps in virtual operator number verification. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology immediately launched investigations into the telecommunications operators, platforms, and call centre companies involved.
What happened
China's CCTV 3·15 Evening Gala broadcast on 15 March 2025 exposed the use of AI-powered outbound call robots by external call companies to make marketing harassment calls to mobile phone users. The programme revealed that these companies advertised services claiming to help businesses reach customers with high efficiency and precision, marketing AI robots that could make calls continuously without fatigue, using voices recorded by real people that callers found difficult to distinguish from humans.
The exposed companies obtained phone numbers from virtual network operators without requiring proper real-name verification, as the numbers lacked physical SIM cards. The practice had become mainstream in the industry.
Reported impact
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology responded on 16 March 2025 by ordering basic telecommunications operators to immediately shut down the offending lines and investigate personal data issues, and directed internet platforms to remove illegal intelligent outbound call software from sale and promotion.
Index analysis
The use of voice-cloned AI to make unsolicited marketing calls bypassed existing identity verification requirements for phone numbers by exploiting virtual network operator loopholes. The technology's ability to operate continuously without human fatigue amplified the scale and persistence of harassment calls.
Governance controls
The Ministry said it would strengthen supervision and inspection of basic telecommunications operators, virtual network operators, and call centre enterprises, and would severely punish companies violating laws and regulations, increase public disclosure of violations, and work with other departments to combat internet criminal enterprises to create a safe and healthy information communication consumption environment.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.