Overseasidol.com — On April 10, netizens raised concerns that a short online drama may have used AI face-swapping technology to replace an actor’s face with that of popular actress Dilraba Dilmurat.
In the scenes from the drama, the character’s appearance bore a striking resemblance to the actress, sparking public concern about potential violations of image rights and copyright laws.
According to Red Star News, the drama in question had already been released across several short drama platforms.
A representative from one of the platforms, identified as Mr. Yan, stated that the series had been purchased from the copyright owner as part of a second distribution cycle and had also been licensed to multiple other digital theaters.
That same day, after the issue was discovered, the platform began revising the series to address the concerns.
As of the time of reporting, scenes containing the alleged AI-altered likeness had already been removed.
By the following morning, the account associated with the drama could no longer be found via search on the platform.
Customer service representatives indicated the account may have been penalized or set to private by its owner.
On April 11, reporters attempted to contact the production company behind the drama. A staff member stated they would need to investigate the matter further before responding, and no official statement had been provided as of the article’s publication.
Commenting on the situation, lawyer Yang Qing from the Taihe Tai Law Firm emphasized that using AI to manipulate someone’s facial image without permission for use in video content may constitute a violation of that person’s portrait rights.
