China drafts new rules to curb internet addiction among children and teens
- Online regulator says proposed rules will apply to anyone under 18 and public will have a month to submit feedback
- A ‘minor mode’ would restrict daily usage according to age group, though parents can opt out of using the function
China’s online regulator has launched a public consultation on proposed rules aimed at curbing internet addiction and fostering socialist values among children and teenagers.
They will apply to anyone aged under 18, and the Cyberspace Administration of China on Wednesday said the public would have a month to submit feedback.
The CAC said the rules had been drafted to “improve the positive role of the internet, create a favourable network environment, prevent and intervene in minors’ internet addiction problems, and guide minors to form good internet use habits”.
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Under existing rules, tech companies are required to apply a “youth mode” function to control gaming and content for users aged under 16. In youth mode, for example, users are barred from conducting live-streaming broadcasts or giving gifts to live-streamers.
The new rules propose a “minor mode” that would apply to users up to the age of 18. That mode would have a multi-tiered control system restricting the daily usage for children and teenagers according to their age group. For example, it would include a “curfew” from 10pm to 6am barring anyone under 18 from accessing the internet during that period.
However, parents will be able to opt out of the minor mode function, as is the case for youth mode.
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The CAC said the youth mode function had already helped to curb internet addiction and reduce the influence of harmful content on young users.
But state media has reported that youth mode can easily be circumvented and there have been calls for more safeguards to protect young people online.
According to the CAC notice posted on WeChat, the new rules will be applicable to all mobile devices including smartphones, laptops, digital wearables, mobile apps and mobile internet application distribution platforms such as app stores and mini-program plug-ins.
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The proposed rules also call on internet platform companies to increase positive content, limit young users’ play time and gift-giving, and screen out harmful content.
In addition, the regulator wants tech companies to give “social interest” content a higher priority and to broaden what is available for minors with more factual, educational and popular science content.
Content providers are told to uphold “socialist values” and traditional Chinese culture to “forge the young people’s solid awareness of the unity of the Chinese nation, cultivate minors’ pride in our country, guide minors to develop good living and behavioural habits, and create a clean cyberspace and a favourable internet environment conducive to their healthy growth”.
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The CAC also encouraged platform companies to use big data and algorithms to identify minors as registered users and to set up policing infrastructure to put the new restrictions into practice.
China launched a real-name registration system for social media in 2017, requiring users of various platforms to authenticate their accounts using either their national ID, mobile phone number or another form of identification such as a unified social credit code – a unique company registration number.
