China has increased scrutiny of its Internet giants including Alibaba in recent months. Reuters
China has increased scrutiny of its Internet giants including Alibaba in recent months. Reuters
China has increased scrutiny of its Internet giants including Alibaba in recent months. Reuters
China has increased scrutiny of its Internet giants including Alibaba in recent months. Reuters

China regulators hold talks with Alibaba, Tencent and nine others on 'deepfake tech'


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Chinese regulators recently summoned 11 domestic technology companies including Alibaba, Tencent and ByteDance for talks on use of "deepfake" technologies on their content platforms, stepping up scrutiny of the sector.

China’s cyber space administrator said in a statement on Thursday that it and the public security ministry met with the companies to talk about "security assessments" and potential problems with deepfakes and audio social apps. Kuaishou Technology and Xiaomi also attended the meeting, it said.

All the companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Deepfakes use artificial intelligence to create hyper-realistic but fake videos or audios where a person appears to say or do something they did not.

China has increased scrutiny of its internet giants in recent months, citing concerns over monopolistic behaviour and potential infringement of consumer rights.

Regulators also told the companies to "conduct security assessments on their own" and submit reports to the government when they plan to add new functions or new information services that "have the ability to mobilise society", the statement said.

There has been a surge in China in copycats of the audio app Clubhouse since the US-based chat service was blocked in the country in early February.

Clubhouse was briefly accessible in China. ByteDance is one of many companies working on Clubhouse-like apps for the Chinese market.

Other new offerings include Kuaishou's invitation-based Feichuan app and Xiaomi's reworking of Mi Talk app into an invitation-only audio service targeted at professionals

Europa League group stage draw

Group A: Villarreal, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Astana, Slavia Prague.
Group B: Dynamo Kiev, Young Boys, Partizan Belgrade, Skenderbeu.
Group C: Sporting Braga, Ludogorets, Hoffenheim, Istanbul Basaksehir.
Group D: AC Milan, Austria Vienna , Rijeka, AEK Athens.
Group E: Lyon, Everton, Atalanta, Apollon Limassol.
Group F: FC Copenhagen, Lokomotiv Moscow, Sheriff Tiraspol, FC Zlin.
Group G: Vitoria Plzen, Steaua Bucarest, Hapoel Beer-Sheva, FC Lugano.
Group H: Arsenal, BATE Borisov, Cologne, Red Star Belgrade.
Group I: Salzburg, Marseille, Vitoria Guimaraes, Konyaspor.
Group J: Athletic Bilbao, Hertha Berlin, Zorya Luhansk, Ostersund.
Group K: Lazio, Nice, Zulte Waregem, Vitesse Arnhem.
Group L: Zenit St Petersburg, Real Sociedad, Rosenborg, Vardar

Managing the separation process

  • Choose your nursery carefully in the first place
  • Relax – and hopefully your child will follow suit
  • Inform the staff in advance of your child’s likes and dislikes.
  • If you need some extra time to talk to the teachers, make an appointment a few days in advance, rather than attempting to chat on your child’s first day
  • The longer you stay, the more upset your child will become. As difficult as it is, walk away. Say a proper goodbye and reassure your child that you will be back
  • Be patient. Your child might love it one day and hate it the next
  • Stick at it. Don’t give up after the first day or week. It takes time for children to settle into a new routine.And, finally, don’t feel guilty.  
UK-EU trade at a glance

EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years

Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products

Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries

Smoother border management with use of e-gates

Cutting red tape on import and export of food

What can victims do?

Always use only regulated platforms

Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion

Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)

Report to local authorities

Warn others to prevent further harm

Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence