China’s internet overseer laid out regulations Wednesday to prevent minors from spending too much time on their smartphones, dealing a potential blow to Tencent Holdings Ltd. and other social media leaders.
(Bloomberg) — China’s internet overseer laid out regulations Wednesday to prevent minors from spending too much time on their smartphones, dealing a potential blow to Tencent Holdings Ltd. and other social media leaders.
The regulations published by the Cyberspace Administration of China represent some of the harshest restrictions on internet use in the world, as worries fester about online addiction. Among other things, “non-adult” children won’t be allowed to access the internet from mobile devices from 10:00 pm to 6:00 am, the agency said in a draft of rules published on its website. Other restrictions include a maximum of two hours’ mobile usage for kids between the ages of 16 to 18.
Beijing since 2021 has pursued campaigns to alleviate the burden on minors and their families and combat what it views as social ills. It imposed limits on online gaming for kids and declared for-profit after-school tutoring illegal, measures regarded as intended to both lessen financial burdens and promote healthier activities. At one point in 2021, state-backed media referred to gaming as “spiritual opium.”
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Tencent’s WeChat and ByteDance Ltd.’s TikTok-like Douyin are among the most popular and heavily used internet services in China, attracting a disproportionate number of minors. The CAC didn’t name any services except to say that platforms will be responsible for ensuring they meet the CAC’s requirements, which include promoting lullabies for children under 3 and educational news and entertainment content to those under 12.
It’s unclear how regulators intend to enforce the proposed ban, though mobile carriers and services often require real-name registration. Several Chinese apps already have limitations in place for minors, though it’s unclear how widespread those are and how rigidly enforced. Representatives for the two companies didn’t respond to requests for comment.
“To strengthen protection of minors, in past years, the CAC has continued to push the construction of an internet model for youths, expanded its reach, improved its functions and enriched age-appropriate content,” the agency said in the regulations, which seek public feedback and may change. “They’ve had a positive impact in lessening youth internet addiction and curbing the impact of undesirable information.”
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