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China Proposes Eight-Minute Limit on Smartphone Use by Kids

The proposed rules spurred a fall in shares in Hong Kong-listed Chinese tech firms, with Bilibili and Kuaishou plunging nearly 7% and 3.5% respectively


chinese kids playing on phones
Moves to limit children's access to social media and create a safer online environment are gaining momentum in the US and other nations. Photo: Reuters.

 

Kids under the age of 18 in China may see limits imposed on their use of smartphones, as Beijing looks to tackle increasing rates of myopia and internet addiction among the country’s young.

China’s cyberspace regulator said on Wednesday it wanted the use of smartphones by youngsters aged 16 to 18 limited to two hours a day, while children aged eight to 16 would get one hour and those under eight would be allowed just eight minutes.

In draft rules published on Wednesday, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) asked providers of smart devices to introduce so-called minor mode programmes that would also bar users under 18 from accessing the internet on mobile devices from 10pm to 6am.

 

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The regulator added, however, that service providers should allow parents to opt out of the time limits for their youngsters.

Investors were not impressed.

The proposed rules spurred a fall in shares in Hong Kong-listed Chinese tech firms, with Bilibili and Kuaishou plunging 6.98% and 3.53% respectively. Tencent Holdings, which operates the social network app WeChat, also closed 2.99% lower.

CAC said the draft guidelines will be open to public feedback until September 2.

 

High risk of non-compliance

Xia Hailong, a lawyer at the Shanghai Shenlun law firm, said the rules would be a headache for internet companies.

“A lot of effort and additional costs to properly implement these new regulatory requirements,” he said.

“And the risk of non-compliance will also be very high. So I believe that many internet companies may consider directly prohibiting minors from using their services.”

In 2021, the government imposed a curfew for video game players under the age of 18. That dealt a huge blow to gaming giants like Tencent.

Video-sharing platforms like Bilibili, Kuaishou and ByteDance have since 2019 offered “teenage modes” that restrict the users’ access to content and the duration of use.

ByteDance’s TikTok-like app Douyin bars teenagers from using it for more than 40 minutes.

CAC’s proposed rules come at a time when Beijing is signaling an end to its years-long regulatory crackdown the technology industry. Authorities have said they will look to support the development of tech giants.

 

  • Reuters, with additional editing by Vishakha Saxena

 

Also read:

 

China Parents Paying Jobless Offspring to be Children – Fortune

 

Kids Turn to China’s TikTok as West’s YouTube Falls Behind

 

Marriages in China Plunge to a Multi-Decade Low

 

China Sees Lowest Population Growth in Decades

 

China’s Child Smartwatch Market Doubles Over 4 Years – Nikkei

 

Vishakha Saxena

Vishakha Saxena is the Multimedia and Social Media Editor at Asia Financial. She has worked as a digital journalist since 2013, and is an experienced writer and multimedia producer. As a trader and investor, she is keenly interested in new economy, emerging markets and the intersections of finance and society. You can write to her at [email protected]