LayarHijau – China’s generative AI boom is creating a new kind of digital marketplace where people can earn money by licensing the rights to their likeness for AI-generated content.
A growing number of specialized platforms allow users to upload photos or videos of themselves, while AI content producers pay for permission to use their faces in advertisements, games and increasingly popular vertical microdramas.
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Fees can range from $15 to $700, depending on the platform and the terms of the license. Users can also have a say in how their likeness is used, including the types of productions and settings in which their faces may appear. (Rest of World)
The business model is similar to a stock-photo marketplace. Producers can browse catalogs of faces and narrow their searches by gender, age and appearance, as well as categories or genres such as thrillers, comedies and romance.
The biggest source of demand is China’s booming microdrama industry, which produces short, vertical-format series designed primarily for smartphone viewing. More than 128,000 microdramas were released in China during the first quarter of 2026, and more than 95 percent used AI in their production. (Rest of World)
The emerging market is already attracting users and generating transactions. ActID, a Shenzhen-based platform launched in March, has registered around 800 users, with about 300 agreeing to license their images.
Two AI productions have so far licensed roughly 10 faces at rates ranging from $15 to $74 per episode, with the platform taking a 10 percent commission. Another platform, New Claw, has set a minimum price of $74 per image to prevent users from undercutting the value of their likenesses. (TNW)
Supporters of the model argue that formal licensing can give people greater control over their appearance and provide a legitimate way to earn money from an asset that could otherwise be copied without permission.
But lawyers and other experts warn that licensing a face also comes with significant risks. Once biometric data is uploaded to a platform, users may have limited control over how their likeness is used in the future.
The problem is particularly concerning because licensing agreements may not clearly spell out every potential use of the images. There are also concerns about unauthorized copying and whether licensed images could eventually be used to train AI models. (Rest of World)
Unauthorized use of people’s faces has already become a problem in China. Two influencers accused ByteDance’s Hongguo platform of taking and altering their faces with AI without permission for a microdrama that went on to receive more than 40 million views. The drama was subsequently removed.
ByteDance has also removed more than 85,000 videos involving unauthorized AI-generated reproductions of people’s faces and voices since the beginning of 2026. (Rest of World)
Chinese courts are increasingly dealing with similar disputes. The Guangzhou Internet Court has handled approximately 700 AI-related face-theft cases over the past three years.
In March 2026, a Beijing court issued a landmark ruling that unauthorized use of a person’s likeness in AI-generated content is unlawful, even when the original image has been digitally modified. (Rest of World)
The rise of face-licensing platforms highlights how generative AI is creating new ways for people to monetize their identities while giving content producers a more formal mechanism for obtaining permission.
At the same time, the emerging industry raises difficult questions about biometric data, portrait rights and how much control a person can realistically retain once their face becomes part of an AI marketplace.
As regulations continue to evolve alongside the technology, anyone considering licensing their likeness needs to carefully examine the terms of the agreement, particularly the permitted uses, duration of the license, and whether the images can be reused or used to train AI systems in the future.
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