China’s Cyberspace Administration (CAC) is considering new measures to limit the amount of time children spend on smartphones. Under the proposed draft rules, individuals aged 16 and 17 would be permitted a maximum of two hours of phone usage per day. For ages eight to 15, the allowance would be reduced to one hour daily, while those under eight years old would have a limit of 40 minutes.
Additionally, the draft regulations would prohibit phone usage between 10 PM and 6 AM. Phones must incorporate an easily accessible parental control mode to enable parents to manage children’s content consumption. Internet providers would also need to display age-appropriate material. Children under three years old would be restricted to audio content, whereas those aged 12 and older could access educational and news content. Exceptions would be made for regulated educational content and emergency services.
The primary goal of these proposed measures is to address concerns about potential addictive behavior among children. The Chinese government is wary that excessive use of mobile devices, games, and online services might hinder children’s healthy development. Notably, the country already enforces a three-hour weekly cap on online gaming for young individuals, which is applicable only during weekends and public holidays.
However, the draft regulations are currently open for public review and approval is not assured. Implementation challenges also loom. It remains uncertain whether hardware manufacturers or operating system developers would bear the responsibility of introducing the proposed child mode. While Apple would need to adjust its parental controls for iPhones in China regardless, involving the OS developer like Google might necessitate broader changes, impacting companies such as Oppo and Xiaomi.
The potential rules would also substantially affect Chinese app developers like ByteDance (creators of TikTok and Douyin) and Tencent (developers of WeChat and numerous games). These companies might have to reconfigure apps and content to adhere to the stipulated time restrictions.
Source: Engadget
