Chinese AI platforms pay human users to license their faces

Online platforms in China are paying people to license their faces for AI-generated content, Rest of World reported on July 27, as AI-made microdramas expand and likeness disputes grow.

The report by Kinling Lo and Viola Zhou said platforms are paying between $15 and $700 for likeness rights. The services build catalogs from user uploads or studio images, allowing producers to browse by gender, age, categories such as “girl-next-door” or “rugged,” and genres including thriller, comedy and romance.

Users can choose whether their faces appear in television commercials, video games or short-form dramas, and set prices based on permitted uses and the number of productions. Long Lyu, operations lead at the AI-image rights platform New Claw, told Rest of World: “Whether actors and models choose to license their faces on our platform or not, AI has already disrupted the industry.”

Rest of World said more than 95% of the 128,000 microdramas released in China in the first three months of 2026 used AI in production. ByteDance’s AI drama platform Hongguo was accused by two influencers of using AI to steal and alter their faces without consent; the minidrama drew more than 40 million views before it was taken down. ByteDance, which also owns Douyin, has removed more than 85,000 videos involving unauthorized AI-generated reproduction of faces and voices since the start of 2026, according to the report.

Shenzhen-based ActID, which launched in March, has registered around 800 users, about 300 of whom agreed to license their images for AI production, Rest of World reported. ActID said two AI drama productions have licensed around 10 faces through the platform at 99 to 500 yuan ($15 to $74) per episode, with the company taking a 10% commission.

The report said China’s rapid AI adoption has also fueled legal disputes over unauthorized likeness use. The Guangzhou Internet Court has heard about 700 AI-related face theft cases over three years, according to National Business Daily, while the Beijing Internet Court ruled in March that unauthorized AI face swaps are illegal even when modified.