Regulations announced by the Chinese government on August 2.
The new regulation will take effect from September 2, after the public comment process. Accordingly, all people under the age of 18 in China will lose access to the Internet using mobile devices between 10pm and 6am the next day.
In addition, the Chinese government will also apply a tiered system to manage smartphone time in children, which allows up to 40 minutes a day for children under 8 years old and 2 hours/day for 16 and 17 year olds.
Observers say the new regulations, proposed by the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), are among the strictest in the world. However, parents can choose not to apply this rule to their children.
The time to cut off Internet access by mobile devices is expected between 10pm and 6am the next day. (Photo: Vanguard News)
The new rules will “improve the active role of the Internet, create a healthy online environment, prevent and reduce Internet addiction in children, and help children form good Internet habits,” the CAC said. The measures build on previous efforts to protect children and young people online, including “enriching age-appropriate content” and reducing ” influence of malicious information”.
In recent years, the Chinese government has introduced regulations for the domestic technology sector, in part due to concerns about the risks posed by digital technology to young people in the country. In 2021, China introduced a regulation to limit children’s playing time to combat electronic “addiction” and halted the process of approving new video game releases for nine months.
Immediately after the announcement of CAC, shares of many leading Chinese Internet companies immediately dropped in the trading session on August 2, with shares of Tencent listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (China). down to 3%. Meanwhile, mainland China’s largest internet data search company Baidu also saw shares fall 3.75% on the Hong Kong exchange.