Douyin creators sold AI videos of dead actor Qiao Renliang saying he had not really left, and his father asked who gave them the right

Qiao Renliang, an actor and singer also known as Kimi Qiao, died in his Shanghai apartment in September 2016, aged 28. Police confirmed suicide. In March 2024 an AI video on Douyin showed him greeting viewers: "Hello everyone, I'm Kimi, Qiao Renliang, and I haven't really left." A niece saw it and sent it to his father. Douyin sellers offered such videos for about 600 yuan a minute, made from 10 seconds of video and 10 seconds of voice. Others sold holographic clones for 1,499 yuan. The singers Coco Lee and Yao Beina, and the actor Godfrey Gao, had also been recreated. On 16 March 2024 his father, Qiao Kangqiang, told Chinese media he could not accept it and was uncomfortable watching it. "Who gave them the right to do this?" he asked. He said the family had not been asked for consent and wanted the videos removed. The creator deleted the Qiao videos and said he would make no more. Videos of other dead celebrities stayed online. A Beijing lawyer, Han Xiao, said Chinese law protects the image, privacy and reputation of the dead and that close relatives can sue. One seller said they still took orders but "can't be too high-profile." No lawsuit by the family is reported in the sources found.