China: TC260 adopted Guidelines on Identification Methods for AI-Generated Synthetic Audio Content

On 28 August 2025, the National Technical Committee (TC260) adopted the Cybersecurity Standard Practice Guide – Artificial Intelligence Generated Synthetic Content Identification Method: File Metadata Implicit Identification for Audio Files, formulated to implement the Measures for the Identification of Artificial Intelligence Generated Synthetic Content and aligned with the mandatory national standard GB 45438-2025 Cybersecurity Technology—Identification Methods for AI-Generated Synthetic Content. The Guide specifies implicit metadata labelling methods for audio files generated or synthesised by artificial intelligence technologies, providing detailed solutions for multiple audio formats including WAV, MP3, OGG (Vorbis and Opus), FLAC, and M4A (AVS and AAC), as well as an extensible metadata platform (XMP) scheme for other formats. It sets out storage locations, embedding methods, and string structures for required identifiers such as Label, ContentProducer, ProduceID, ContentPropagator, and PropagateID, in accordance with Annex E of GB 45438-2025. The Guide aims to guide artificial intelligence audio content generation service providers and internet information audio content propagation service providers in embedding implicit metadata markers within audio files, ensuring consistency with national cybersecurity standards and supporting standardised identification of synthetic audio content. It also includes informative appendices demonstrating practical implementation for different file types and reference code for writing and extracting metadata using tools such as ExifTool, FFmpeg, and Python libraries.