---
title: "工信厅信管〔2026〕42号: MIIT Puts AI-Agent Phones Under Network Access Management, and Requires App Developers' Declared Consent Before an Agent May Invoke an App"
author: "DCC Editorial"
published: 2026-11-12T08:30:00.000Z
url: https://datacompliancechina.com/posts/miit-agent-terminal-notice-gong-xin-ting-xin-guan-2026-42/
description: "On November 6, 2026 the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology published the Notice of the General Office of MIIT on Strengthening the Network Access Management of Agent Terminal Equipment (工业和信息化部办公厅关于加强智能体终端设备进网管理的通知), document number 工信厅信管〔2026〕42号, dated October 24, 2026. It is the first Chinese instrument aimed at the 'agent terminal' (智能体终端): a phone, tablet or wearable with an AI agent pre-installed. This brief translates MIIT's release note in full and maps the Notice's four tasks by party. Agent developers must verify adaptation with each terminal model and publish the list. Terminal manufacturers must pass agent adaptation verification and fraud-risk assessment inside network access testing, give each agent a unique identity code, report major changes, and clear an MIIT expert assessment before an OTA agent upgrade formally reaches users. App distribution platforms must have app developers declare by electronic signature whether they consent to agent invocation, and an agent may not forcibly invoke an app whose developer has not declared consent. DCC also sets out what the Notice leaves open: no transition period, no penalty clause of its own, and no definition of 'forcibly invoke'."
tags: ["miit", "ai-agents", "agent-terminal", "ai-phone", "network-access-license", "ota-upgrade", "app-distribution-platform", "agent-invocation-consent", "adaptation-verification", "anti-fraud", "gong-xin-ting-xin-guan-2026-42"]
laws_cited: ["miit-agent-terminal-network-access-notice", "ai-agent-standardization-innovation-opinion", "anti-telecom-fraud-law", "pipl", "csl", "dsl"]
domains: ["ai-governance", "app-compliance"]
account: "miit-weibao"
original_title: "工信部：加强智能体终端设备进网管理"
original_author: "工业和信息化部信息通信管理局 (MIIT Information and Communications Administration Bureau)"
original_publication: "工信微报 (MIIT Micro-Bulletin) WeChat Official Account"
original_url: "https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/bHtvsScDYQJCkXegxGBFUg"
source_language: "zh"
---

> **Source: Data Compliance China** — https://datacompliancechina.com/posts/miit-agent-terminal-notice-gong-xin-ting-xin-guan-2026-42/ · China data law, translated and annotated for overseas counsel. Cite as: Data Compliance China, "工信厅信管〔2026〕42号: MIIT Puts AI-Agent Phones Under Network Access Management, and Requires App Developers' Declared Consent Before an Agent May Invoke an App", https://datacompliancechina.com/posts/miit-agent-terminal-notice-gong-xin-ting-xin-guan-2026-42/
> *Editor's Note — DCC.*
>
> **The instrument.** Notice of the General Office of the Ministry of
> Industry and Information Technology on Strengthening the Network Access
> Management of Agent Terminal Equipment
> (工业和信息化部办公厅关于加强智能体终端设备进网管理的通知), document
> number **工信厅信管〔2026〕42号**, dated **October 24, 2026** and published
> on **November 6, 2026** through 工信微报, MIIT's official WeChat channel.
> DCC's full English translation is on the law page:
> [MIIT Agent Terminal Notice](/laws/miit-agent-terminal-network-access-notice/).
>
> **What this brief is.** The first half is a full translation of the
> release note MIIT published above the text of the Notice. The second half
> is DCC's own map of the obligations, party by party, and a list of what the
> Notice does not say. MIIT's four-question interpretation and its one-chart
> explainer are in a separate brief:
> [MIIT's four-question interpretation](/posts/miit-agent-terminal-notice-official-interpretation-four-questions/).
>
> **Why it matters outside China.** China licenses telecommunications
> terminals before they may connect to public networks (进网许可, the
> network access license). This Notice puts the AI agent that ships inside
> the device into that licensing process. It also reaches two parties that
> never apply for a device license: the developer of any agent listed in an
> app store, and the developer of any app an agent might operate.

## MIIT's release note (full translation)

In order to thoroughly implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of
the Communist Party of China and of the plenary sessions of the 20th Central
Committee, to coordinate development and security, to promote the healthy
and orderly development of new-generation smart terminals and of work on AI
agents (智能体), to effectively safeguard the lawful rights and interests of
users, to improve the regulatory rules for agent terminals and strengthen
the management of agent terminals, to provide an inclusive and prudent
(包容审慎) environment for the development of new business forms and new
models of agent terminals, and to guide AI technology to be "used by people,
serving people, and controlled by people" (为人所用、为人服务、为人所控),
the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has recently issued the
*Notice of the General Office of the Ministry of Industry and Information
Technology on Strengthening the Network Access Management of Agent Terminal
Equipment* (the "Notice").

The Notice is an important measure to implement the Outline of the 15th
Five-Year Plan and to promote the development of AI phones and other
new-generation smart terminals. The Notice provides that regulatory rules
for agent terminals are to be established and improved step by step, and
makes specific work arrangements in four respects.

**First, promote agent adaptation.** It requires agents to strengthen
adaptation verification with terminal devices, to strengthen permission
invocation and communication capability, and to further improve management
in respect of the network access testing mechanism, network and data
security, and other matters.

**Second, strengthen the network access management of agent terminals.**
Agent adaptation verification and risk assessment are to be carried out
within network access management, and the requirements for matters subject
to special provisions (特别规定事项) are to be refined.

**Third, strengthen the management of live-network upgrades.** Where a
live-network upgrade (现网升级) is carried out by over-the-air (OTA) update
push or other means, a live-network upgrade plan is to be drawn up, and the
service is to be provided to users after expert assessment and a
solicitation of opinions.

**Fourth, improve the distribution management mechanism.** App developers
are to be brought to declare whether they consent to invocation by agents,
and users are to be provided with download and installation services for
agents compatible with their device model.

*[The full text of the Notice follows in the original post. DCC's
translation is on the
[law page](/laws/miit-agent-terminal-network-access-notice/).]*

---

## DCC's map: who must do what

*This section is DCC's reading of the Notice text, not part of MIIT's
release. Item references are to Part I of the Notice.*

Two definitions set the scope. An **agent** is "an intelligent system with
the capabilities of autonomous perception, memory, decision-making,
interaction and execution". An **agent terminal** is a telecommunications
terminal device, "such as a mobile phone, tablet or wearable device", on
which an agent is **pre-installed** (预置安装).

| Party | What the Notice requires | Item |
|---|---|---|
| **Agent developer** | Strengthen adaptation verification with terminal devices, and management of permission invocation, communication capability, network and data security, user rights and task execution. Publish an **adaptation verification list** on the product settings page, naming the terminal models and operating systems for which adaptation is complete. Submit adaptation verification status to the app distribution platform **before listing**. | (1) |
| **Terminal manufacturer** | For a device with a pre-installed agent: undergo agent adaptation verification within **network access testing**; undergo a fraud-related risk security assessment and an upfront evaluation of anti-fraud capability; implement the important-communications requirements. Equip each agent with a **unique identity code**, by reference to the national standard series on agent interconnection. Keep the device **consistent** before and after the license is granted. **Report a major change** to MIIT and retest. | (2) |
| **Terminal manufacturer (upgrades)** | Before an agent upgrade on devices already in service: submit a **live-network upgrade plan** to MIIT covering timing, scale, user groups, scenarios, service content, business model, network and data security measures, and anti-fraud measures. After the upgrade: submit an **upgrade report**. Formal service to users only after MIIT has organized an **expert assessment and solicited opinions**. | (3) |
| **App distribution platform** | Have app developers declare, by electronic signature, whether they consent to agent invocation. Display the adaptation verification list on the distribution page. Do not offer an agent for download to a device model it is incompatible with. Patrol listed agents; order rectification within a time limit or remove agents that have not completed adaptation verification. | (4) |
| **App developer** | Declare, by electronic signature and through the distribution platform, **whether it consents to invocation by agents**. | (4) |
| **Any agent** | "Without a declared consent, an agent shall not forcibly invoke or call up the app" (未经声明同意的，智能体不得强制调用调取应用). | (4) |
| **MIIT and provincial communications administrations** | Routine and special inspections; policy interpretation; complaint channels; action against non-compliant products placed on the market. | Part II (1) |
| **CAICT and other institutions** | Build an adaptation database of agent versions and terminal models; develop adaptation verification standards; build a trusted identity system and management platform for agents. | Part II (3) |

### Four points DCC would flag for counsel

**1. The default for agent access to third-party apps is now "no" until the
app developer says "yes".** Item (4) is an opt-in rule. Before this Notice,
the best-known attempt to settle the question was a private one: the Doubao
phone assistant's Screen Automation Execution Protocol (SAEP), which gave
app developers a 30-day public notice period and treated silence as
permission. Li Wenlong's analysis of why 155 apps refused is translated in
[The Agent Authorization Standoff After SAEP](/posts/agent-authorization-standoff-saep-interoperability-rules/),
and 数据何规's reading of the Notice as a "dual authorization" rule is in
[Does China's Phone Agent Now Need Two Consents?](/posts/miit-agent-notice-dual-authorization-phone-agents/).

**2. Item (4) is not limited to pre-installed agents.** Items (2) and (3)
are addressed to terminals with a pre-installed agent and to their
manufacturers. Item (4) is addressed to app distribution platforms and
speaks of "agents" without the pre-installation qualifier, and item (1)
covers any agent listed on a distribution platform. On the text, an agent
distributed as an ordinary app is within items (1) and (4).

**3. An OTA agent upgrade is treated almost like a new product.** Item (3)
places a plan, a report, an expert assessment and a solicitation of opinions
between the manufacturer and the "formal" provision of an upgraded agent to
users. The Notice does not say how long the assessment takes, who is
consulted, or what separates an upgrade pushed for the assessment from
formal service. It also does not say whether every agent update is a
"live-network upgrade" or only one that changes the agent's capabilities.

**4. The Notice has no teeth of its own, and no transition period.** It
names no effective date other than its date of issue, gives no grace period
for devices and agents already on the market, and creates no penalty.
Enforcement runs through instruments that already exist: the network access
license for the device, and the distribution platform's power to order
rectification or remove a listing. It cites the Cybersecurity Law, the Data
Security Law, the [PIPL](/laws/pipl/), the Anti-Telecom and Online Fraud
Law, the Telecommunications Regulations and the Measures for the
Administration of Network Access of Telecommunications Equipment as its
basis.

### Terms the Notice uses but does not define

- **"Forcibly invoke or call up" (强制调用调取).** The Notice does not say
  whether this covers only screen-level operation of an app by a GUI agent,
  or also calls through an interface the app itself exposes.
- **"Major change" (重大变化)** to an agent terminal, which triggers a
  report to MIIT and retesting.
- **"Matters subject to special provisions" (特别规定事项)** and
  **"important communications" (重要通信).** DCC's renderings are
  provisional; the Notice uses both as existing terms of MIIT practice
  without explanation.
- **The "national standard series on agent interconnection"
  (智能体互联系列国家标准)** that the unique identity code is to follow. The
  Notice says "by reference to" (参考) and names no standard number.

The Notice sits alongside the
[AI Agent Implementation Opinions](/laws/ai-agent-standardization-innovation-opinion/)
of May 2026, which set the policy frame for agents generally. This is the
first instrument to turn part of that frame into a market-entry procedure.

— *工信微报 (MIIT), 工信部：加强智能体终端设备进网管理 (MIIT: Strengthening
the Network Access Management of Agent Terminal Equipment), November 6,
2026; source: MIIT Information and Communications Administration Bureau.
Release note translated in full by DCC; the map and the four points are
DCC's own.
[Original (Chinese).](https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/bHtvsScDYQJCkXegxGBFUg)*

— Not legal advice.