Using AI to Write Pornographic Novels for Overseas Publishing Leads to Prison Sentence — What About Games?

Recently, the Daye City People’s Court in Hubei Province pronounced the first domestic case of using AI to write pornographic novels for profit. The defendant, identified as Ke, was sentenced to ten months in prison for the crime of producing, selling, and disseminating obscene materials for profit, along with a fine of 5,000 yuan and confiscation of illegal gains.

Contrary to what many might imagine, Ke was legally savvy enough to publish the pornographic novels overseas—even on websites requiring a VPN to access—but still faced domestic legal consequences.

Why?

If someone uses AI to create pornographic games, will they also face the iron fist?

*This article represents only the author’s personal views and is not intended as legal advice or opinion.

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I. Justice Has a Long Reach—Even “Over the Wall”

With the popularization of AI technology, more and more people are enjoying the convenience of AI

Of course, it has also stirred many people’s “hidden thoughts”

The defendant Ke, a web novel author with a college degree, “cleverly” turned AI text generation tools into tools for creating pornographic novels for profit between November 2022 and March 2023.

He published these contents on overseas adult websites using a VPN and sold them on another website. In just five months, Ke published dozens of pornographic novels, making over 20,000 yuan in illegal profits. Expert evaluation confirmed that 7 of the submitted novels were obscene materials.

The court held that Ke’s use of AI tools to produce, sell, and disseminate obscene materials seriously violated Chinese laws and regulations and had a negative impact on social norms. Considering that Ke truthfully confessed his crimes, voluntarily admitted guilt and accepted punishment, and surrendered illegal gains, he could be given a lighter and more lenient punishment according to law. The final sentence was ten months’ imprisonment with a fine of 5,000 yuan.

The Daye City Court presiding judge and the People’s Procuratorate both stated that AI technology applications must comply with the law and public order and good customs. Using AI to create illegal content is no different from traditional methods and both require legal liability.

II. Personal Jurisdiction and Territorial Jurisdiction — Dual Jurisdiction

Ke chose to publish novels overseas, even on websites requiring a VPN to access, which shows Ke’s “clever thinking.”

Published overseas, even banned domestic IP—domestic authorities won’t punish me, right?

But as previously discussed in an earlier article:

Will Publishing YAOI Abroad Lead to “Long-Distance Harvesting”? What About Games?

Let me emphasize again:

China’s criminal law has dual jurisdiction: personal + territorial

Meaning:

Chinese citizens who commit crimes within or outside China are subject to Chinese law;

At the same time, criminal acts committed within China’s territory and cyberspace are subject to Chinese law regardless of the perpetrator’s nationality.

In this case, although Ke chose to publish the novel content on an overseas website accessible only via VPN, because he is a Chinese citizen and his criminal act (“producing obscene novels”) actually occurred domestically, he was held criminally responsible according to law.

III. AI-Made Pornographic Games: A “Criminal Path” Without Limits

Currently, AI technology has permeated every corner of game development: from automatically generating dialogue plots and designing level layouts, to sketching character art and 3D modeling rendering, and even integrating NPC intelligent interaction and real-time dubbing dialogue. AI not only skyrockets development efficiency but also greatly enriches the player experience.

Especially with the continuous improvement of AI accuracy in programming, many ordinary people who have never touched code are now eager to try, diving headfirst into the red ocean of game development with the help of AI.

As the old saying goes, “The easiest ways to make money are all written in the Criminal Code.”

For those wanting the fastest way to make money, the first thought that pops into many people’s minds is “pornography and gambling” projects.

Mass-produce pornographic games with AI, package them up, and sell them on overseas platforms—sitting at home in China, “dollars” arrive overnight in the account. A sure win.

But what you might see when you wake up could also be “rose gold bracelets.”

As long as a person is a Chinese national and their physical body is still in China

No matter what tools were used to make the game, no matter which platform it was released on, no matter whether that platform is accessible in China

They can all be arrested.

One more thing to note is

Many indie games have started integrating AI NPCs, giving NPCs identities and allowing players to talk to them through API calls.

But based on current domestic regulations, generative AI applications or functions that directly call the capabilities of registered models through API interfaces or other means need to be registered with the local Cyberspace Administration.

Although currently unauthorized AI integration has not yet constituted criminal liability, if it involves overseas AI, AI without risk controls, or AI service providers illegally collecting, using, or leaking personal information, game developers may still face legal risks, potentially even criminal liability.

Therefore, whether using AI to develop games or introducing AI into games, great attention must be paid and risk control measures implemented.

IV. Conclusion

Going overseas to make money requires compliance. AI technology is convenient, but its application must adhere to legal boundaries.

The Criminal Code is like an EXE—once you accidentally trigger it, if you break the law, the program starts executing.

AI can’t serve the prison sentence for you.