China wants to severely limit young people's mobile use and internet access

[midian182]

In brief: China is not a good place to live if you're young and enjoy playing online games or using smartphones. The former is already heavily restricted for under-18s, while the country's cyberspace regulator wants to limit phone and internet use for the age group to a maximum of two hours per day.

The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) published regulations this week that include some extreme measures for addressing online addiction. The agency wants smart device providers to introduce a 'minor mode' that would prevent users aged under 18 from accessing the internet on mobile devices such as phones and tablets between 10 pm and 6 am.

The minor mode would also restrict how often a person under 18 will be able to use a device. Those aged between 16 and 18 would get a maximum of two hours per day, while anyone between eight years old and 16 gets just an hour. The harshest restriction is reserved for children under 8, who would only be able to use a device for 40 minutes per day.

News of the regulations has seen shares in Tencent, Weibo, and other Chinese tech giants slide

The CAC did say that parents would be able to opt out of the time limits for their children if they wished. Once a time limit is reached, a mobile device should "automatically close other applications except for specific necessary applications and parent-defined exempt applications."

Bloomberg writes that other requirements set out by the CAC include promoting lullabies for children under 3 and educational news and entertainment content to those under 12, along with guidelines for what type of content should be recommended to children.

Some content will be exempt from the time limit restrictions, including educational content and services, products that promote mental and physical development, emergency products and services that allow for personal safety, and any apps classed as exempt from parental custom settings.

Platform providers will be responsible for enforcement, though the CAC didn't specify what penalties they may face for violations. The regulator will carry out periodic checks and assessments and be given access to technology and data on request to ensure compliance with the rules.

Back in August 2021, China tightened its already harsh restrictions on online gaming for those under 18. Previously, minors could access online games for one and a half hours on weekdays and three hours on holidays and weekends. This was slashed to just one hour, between 8 pm and 9 pm local time, on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays.

In May 2022, China prohibited livestreaming platforms from offering tipping services to minors. Platforms were also asked to create dedicated youth content censorship teams, and they must shut down parental-controlled 'youth mode' user activities after 10 pm to "ensure they [under-18s] have enough time to rest."

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https://www.techspot.com/news/99661-china-wants-severely-limit-young-people-mobile-use.html

 

[dangh]

Government indoctrination works best if not disrupted by random, possibly uncontrolled source of information. While monitoring Chinese internet and removing any information not following official agenda works extremely well for them, why risk any exposure to some crazy knowledge - they could learn such a mad ideas like a free speech and stuff.
Reducing the circles a young person can participate in, and keep the general brainwashing, is the best way to ensure adults are obedient and tamed well.
Sure, there are some issues with some kids (and I mean parent, actually) spending too much time on small screens, but let's not get fooled by country involved in continuous genocide that such efforts are made to be a good uncle.

 

[bviktor]

Government indoctrination works best if not disrupted by random, possibly uncontrolled source of information. While monitoring Chinese internet and removing any information not following official agenda works extremely well for them, why risk any exposure to some crazy knowledge - they could learn such a mad ideas like a free speech and stuff.
Reducing the circles a young person can participate in, and keep the general brainwashing, is the best way to ensure adults are obedient and tamed well.
Sure, there are some issues with some kids (and I mean parent, actually) spending too much time on small screens, but let's not get fooled by country involved in continuous genocide that such efforts are made to be a good uncle.

Yeah, conspiracy theories at their finest.

So they want to push their brainwashing propaganda, THEREFORE they limit the children's access to such resources? I don't think you thought this through lol. Internet is controlled completely by the state, so it's not like they'd stumble upon anti-govt stuff on their own.

In this case, I do believe it benefits children. Countless studies have already shown how damaging it is to turn young children into internet addicts with ADHD and a lot of other mental disorders.

 

[Nobina]

It sucks that the government has to get involved.

 

[Uncle Al]

I don't see them being successful with this one .....

 

[WhiteLeaff]

This would be suitable for children, but not teenagers... you can't expect balance from a country like China.

 

[dangh]

Yeah, conspiracy theories at their finest.

So they want to push their brainwashing propaganda, THEREFORE they limit the children's access to such resources? I don't think you thought this through lol. Internet is controlled completely by the state, so it's not like they'd stumble upon anti-govt stuff on their own.

You see, you read poorly Internet in China still have a lot of places where people share thoughts, and THEREFORE it is better to leave indoctrination to schools (where kids spend much more time than in west) and after-school clubs.
Dark web access is a thing in China. Online games have chat which can be still fooled. VPN still works there. So easy, they know what they are doing. Internet is largely controlled by the state, but how do you think visitors access their own google account, pictures and so on? Great Firewall is wonderful censorship tool, but what's better? no internet access at all. Follow teachings, be obedient, praise communist party leaders. Been there number of times, it is as fascinating as scary

 

[Kam7r]

Great idea, but 40min may be a little too hard, I'd say 1 hour is enough

 

[WhoCaresAnymore]

Is why most Asians have long surpassed its US counterparts whose kids are stuck endlessly getting brainwashed by social media bullsh**.

 

[toooooot]

To succeed doing this, they need draconian measures and control.
For the sake of those poor kids, I hope it goes no further than a couple of new laws
and then nobody ever speak about this again.

 

[p51d007]

I'd love to somehow fire off an electromagnetic pulse over the college here during class change...
Just to watch the kids MELT as their phones died.

 

[kinetix]

In this case, I do believe it benefits children. Countless studies have already shown how damaging it is to turn young children into internet addicts with ADHD and a lot of other mental disorders.

UNESCO is already asking for something like this, in the schools.

 

[kinetix]

I'd love to somehow fire off an electromagnetic pulse over the college here during class change...
Just to watch the kids MELT as their phones died.

ha ha ha. well, you don't have to go that far, with a bit of knowledge you can make a short range inhibitor of gsm/wifi/BT/etc signals, you can leave a classroom of line

 

[BuckarooBonzaii]

Being that China is dominant of Chinese or Asian ethnicity as compared to foreigners (including ABCs) China can do what it wants to. Internet boarders and sovereignty is alive and well.

 

[loki1944]

It's a communist regime; no surprise. Don't let theirexternal economics fool you about their Marxist control of their citizens.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

To succeed doing this, they need draconian measures and control.
For the sake of those poor kids, I hope it goes no further than a couple of new laws
and then nobody ever speak about this again.

China already has that, with digital identities and the social credit system. They already enforce this to limit gaming time for minors on console and PC. Always connected mobile phones would be trivial.

 

[MyIOnU]

Maybe we should do the same, so kids can focus more on their education rather than thic thot !!!

 

[ScottSoapbox]

Enough play. Back to studying!

The government needs good future workers for the state.

 

[toooooot]

Maybe we should do the same, so kids can focus more on their education rather than thic thot !!!

It comes from parents, good habits and patience to study, parents need to invest in their children.
If their parents do not care, there is nothing else the government can do.
So many fatherless boy have zero interest in studying, criminal statistics and fatherlessness
is simply depressing. It is not about internet, it is about human decency and caring for your people.

 

[WhoCaresAnymore]

Maybe we should do the same, so kids can focus more on their education rather than thic thot !!!

It comes from parents, good habits and patience to study, parents need to invest in their children.
If their parents do not care, there is nothing else the government can do.
So many fatherless boy have zero interest in studying, criminal statistics and fatherlessness
is simply depressing. It is not about internet, it is about human decency and caring for your people.

A lot of that went down the tubes with the whole BLM movement and defunding police. Add that to parents that won't teach their kids about what is right and wrong, what is ethical and not so ethical. Human decency.

Now there is no respect for the rule of law, people stand aside, and watch others get hurt, instead of jumping in to help. Because the criminal rights now come first. Everything is upside down in our society. The USA needs a great reset, but alas it will never happen.

 

[J95qRP7]

A lot of that went down the tubes with the whole BLM movement and defunding police. Add that to parents that won't teach their kids about what is right and wrong, what is ethical and not so ethical. Human decency.

Now there is no respect for the rule of law, people stand aside, and watch others get hurt, instead of jumping in to help. Because the criminal rights now come first. Everything is upside down in our society. The USA needs a great reset, but alas it will never happen.

Yeah? Like a reset back to slave ownership, maybe just to segregation? Reset it back to before women could vote?

The world needs less people who want to take things backwards and more people who want to move things forward.

 

[WhoCaresAnymore]

Yeah? Like a reset back to slave ownership, maybe just to segregation? Reset it back to before women could vote?

The world needs less people who want to take things backwards and more people who want to move things forward.

If the current state of affairs is your idea of moving things forward, I'll gladly go back.

 

[toooooot]

Yeah? Like a reset back to slave ownership, maybe just to segregation? Reset it back to before women could vote?

The world needs less people who want to take things backwards and more people who want to move things forward.

Forward is not a one way road. Some people "appoint " "forward ideas" and then want everyone else to worship them. I mean if you look at some trends we got right now, they are way past rational and logical meaning.
"This is the future, this is right, good and everybody has to accept it." That is a lot like religions if you compare them together.
Common sense must prevail, and no, there no no point arguing about inherently bad things that were stopped long ago. And it is interesting that you and other people always mention those specific ones, as if a lot of people actually want them back. Hardly anybody would want to bring those back.

 

[WillD]

Great in principle but not so easy in practice. Device 'addiction' is undoubtedly a very real problem all over the world - for all ages. It is a cultural problem as much as a commercial one. Just like junk food, which is also addictive, unlimited device use is bad for mental, social and even physical health.

People need to interact more with other people face-to-face, and with their environment - directly, not through an artificial medium.

So, the question really is - how to get us OFF our devices and back into the real world more?

 

[Endymio]

The world needs less people who want to take things backwards and more people who want to move things forward.

The chaos, mayhem, looting, and violent riots engendered by BLM and the defund-the-police movement was a gargantuan step backwards, not forwards. History makes quite clear what happens to societies bereft of the rule of law.