Top Stories – July 15, 2026
1. China AI Companion Law Takes Effect: Doubao and Qwen Shut Down, Millions Lose Chat Data
China’s Interim Measures on AI Anthropomorphic Interactive Services took legal effect today, forcing ByteDance’s Doubao and Alibaba’s Qwen to permanently close AI companion and persona features used by hundreds of millions. Qwen announced permanent deletion of user chat histories; ByteDance is redirecting Doubao users to its Maoxiang app and plans to rebuild under a compliance-first architecture.
2. EU AI Act Enforcement Is Here: Chatbot Rules Live, High-Risk AI Delay Now Binding Law
With 18 days to August 2, the European Commission will gain the power to issue retroactive fines for GPAI violations dating back to August 2025, but only approximately 10 of 27 member states have built the national enforcement infrastructure needed to apply Article 50 transparency rules. The Digital Omnibus delaying high-risk AI obligations to December 2027 still awaits Official Journal publication.
3. China Weighs Restrictions on Overseas Access to Its Most Advanced AI Models
China’s Ministry of Commerce consultations with Alibaba, ByteDance, and Z.ai on restricting foreign access to advanced Chinese AI models have produced no final decision after more than a week, with proposals ranging from simple filing requirements to domestic-only lockdowns for frontier models including Qwen, Doubao, and GLM-5.2.