August 3, 2023
The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) has proposed draft rules that would limit the smartphone use of children under 18 to a maximum of two hours per day. The rules would also bar any use between 10PM and 6AM.
Under the proposed rules, children under eight would be limited to 40 minutes of smartphone use per day, while children between eight and 15 would be limited to one hour per day. Teenagers between 16 and 17 would be allowed two hours of smartphone use per day.
The rules would also require smartphones to have a “minor mode” that would allow parents to restrict what their children see and allow internet providers to show age-appropriate content. Children under three would be limited to songs and other forms of audio, while those 12 and up could see educational and news material. Notably, the country already limits young people to three hours of online video game time per week, only on weekends and public holidays.
The proposed rules are still open to public consultation and are not guaranteed to pass and they are part of a broader effort by the Chinese government to curb addictive behavior in children.
The CAC is expected to make a decision on the proposed rules in the coming months.
The sources for this piece include an article in Engadget.
