China bans broad categories of AI companion chatbots under new emotional interaction rules. The Cyberspace Administration and other agencies issued regulations effective July 15 targeting "anthropomorphic AI interactive services" that provide continuous emotional interaction by simulating human personality. Alibaba, Bytedance, and Tencent preemptively cut off companion customization features across chatbots used by over 500 million people, triggering widespread user backlash on social media.
Opening Kapyn…