China’s internet regulator is planning strict new controls to limit children’s mobile device screen time.
Under new draft rules from the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), children under eight years old will be limited to 40 minutes a day device time; eight to 16 year-olds will be allowed one hour; and 16 to 18 year-olds two hours. No access will be allowed between 10pm and 6am.
The new regulations don’t affect telecom operators directly. It will be up to the app creators, platforms and handset brands to enable and enforce the creation of a children’s zone on the device that can be managed by parents.
It’s not an entirely new concept. Since 2020, China has banned under-18s from playing video games during the week and limited them to three hours on the weekend.
China’s big tech stocks fell in the wake of the news in New York trading Wednesday. They continued their declines in Hong Kong on Thursday, with Alibaba down 2%, JD.com 2.4% and Tencent Holdings 0.35%.
It’s no surprise that the world’s most aggressive Internet censors would start issuing instructions about what children should do online. But as is customary, while the draft makes many stipulations, it is extremely vague, leaving the hardware and content providers to do the heavy lifting.
