Alibaba Cloud reduces AI data center construction time to 100 days, making Ulanqab a new Chinese AIDC hub

Deepfakes and AI-generated videos are rapidly spreading on social media, making it difficult to distinguish between authentic and fabricated content. There is a risk that images or videos may show famous personalities or ordinary people saying things they never said, and such materials could be deepfakes. The government constantly expresses concern about this, despite previous statements about the need to tighten measures, as technology companies have not yet responded.

Currently, videos created with AI lack synthetic content labeling, and platforms do not remove such content within three hours.

Changes in IT Rules effective February 10, 2026

According to the latest PIB press release, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) announced changes to the ICT Rules, which came into effect on February 10, 2026. These amendments aim to restrict the spread of deepfakes and other AI-generated synthetic content. The government's goal is to ensure the safety, reliability, and accountability of the internet.

Previously, the government had established strict guidelines regarding deepfake content, but they were not implemented in practice. The key innovation is the mandatory placement of clear labeling on content created using AI. This means that the platform must indicate if a photo, video, or audio was generated by AI. Furthermore, such content must contain traceable metadata for subsequent identification.

Reduction of Illegal Content Removal Timelines

The government has significantly reduced the timeframe for removing illegal content. Previously, social media had 36 hours after receiving a court or government order to remove such content. Now, this period has been reduced to just three hours. The complaint review procedure has also been streamlined, requiring more prompt action in critical cases such as nudity, fake identification, or deepfakes.

The new rules oblige social media companies to implement technical systems capable of recognizing illegal AI-generated content and preventing its dissemination. Major social networks must use automated tools for early detection of such content.

Application of Measures Against AI-Generated Content

The government has clearly stated the necessity of immediate action against content related to child sexual exploitation, creation of private images or videos without consent, generation of fake content under someone else's identity, and any other harmful AI-generated content. Platforms are responsible for blocking and removing such material.

If a social media company fails to comply with these norms, it may lose 'safe harbor' protection under Section 79 of the ICT Act, leading to legal prosecution of the company in such matters. The government also emphasized that the ICT Act 2000 and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) already contain provisions related to identity theft, fraud, impersonation, dissemination of false information, pornographic content, and cybercrimes, and these laws can be applied to deepfake cases.

User Complaint Mechanisms

If a social media company ignores a user complaint, the user can file an online appeal with the Grievance Appellate Committee. Additionally, complaints regarding deepfakes, cyber fraud, or other cybercrimes can be submitted through the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal. The government has also provided a helpline number 1930 for these purposes.

The government is also conducting research to counter AI-related threats. Under the IndiaAI Mission at institutions like IIT Jodhpur, IIT Madras, and IIT Kharagpur, projects are underway to develop deepfake detection technologies, including systems for detecting video and audio deepfakes. Furthermore, the government regularly issues advisory guidelines to social media companies, including directives regarding religious issues, misleading AI-generated content, and private images and videos published without permission.

The monthly active user count for Tencent WorkBuddy reached 20.97 million visits in June, surpassing the combined portfolio of all Alibaba artificial intelligence products. This situation put pressure on DingTalk's new CEO, Chen Yusen, who decided to launch Qianwen Office within 46 days of consolidating three existing products.

Strategic Recognition and Priorities

Ma Nan personally praised WorkBuddy during Tencent's quarterly report, calling it the most widely used AI efficiency agent in China. Furthermore, President Martin Lau mentioned WorkBuddy three times in the same call, while Yuanbao was mentioned only once, signaling a strategic priority for Tencent.

WorkBuddy's Appeal

WorkBuddy's success is attributed to its integration with WeChat, including QR code login, mini-program integration, and setup without specialized knowledge. Non-technical employees use this tool for creating reports, presentations, coding, and participating in meetings. Tencent captured the ecosystem niche while Alibaba focused on internal competitive races, and ByteDance positioned Kouzi as a developer tool.

Limitations and Advantages of Ecosystems

However, WorkBuddy faces structural limitations when deeply penetrating the corporate sector. WeCom functions more as a customer communication tool rather than an enterprise workflow operating system. Core business data, approval processes, and organizational rights are handled in DingTalk or Feishu, not WeCom. Qianwen Office, conversely, can directly interact with ERP interfaces, approval mechanisms, and permission systems within the closed DingTalk ecosystem. This allows for tasks such as financial reconciliation requiring ERP inventory data, budget comparison, multi-level approval, and generation of payment orders, all within a single seamless process.

Comparative Analysis of Approaches

WorkBuddy is forced to extract data from external ERP systems, process it, and then write it back, creating an additional step, delay, and security risk for regulated industries. Meanwhile, DingTalk serves over 26 million enterprise organizations with deep workflow integration, despite the paid conversion rate remaining below 1%. The competitive dynamic is shifting from consumer feature competition to the depth of integration into corporate workflows. WorkBuddy's strategy, based on expanding the skills ecosystem and gradually introducing enterprise functions through partnerships with ZTE, Meituan, and Ping An Bank, represents a long-term peripheral approach. In contrast, Qianwen Office's strategy, focused on deep integration with DingTalk, aims for the position of an enterprise operating system, where AI becomes an integral part of every workflow—from expense reimbursement to hiring and sales analysis.

Future of the Office AI Market

The battle line runs between the advantage of WorkBuddy's consumer ecosystem and the depth of DingTalk's corporate integration. The ultimate winner will depend on which approach converts more effectively into paid corporate subscriptions. Tencent faces the challenge of gaining enterprise trust without an enterprise operating system infrastructure, whereas DingTalk struggles with the task of converting its massive base of free users into paying customers. Both approaches have yet to prove their effectiveness at scale for office AI agents, making the desktop office AI market the most significant strategic battleground in Chinese consumer-enterprise technology.