China is tightening its control over smartphones, and this time it concerns minors. China’s cyberspace regulator plans to deprive under-18s of the Internet at night and there is also talk of limiting the duration of daily use, according to the announcement made on Wednesday August 2. The measures are due to come into effect in September after a public consultation, but their announcement has already sent shares of tech companies plummeting.
1 min
Internet access is prohibited to minors between 10 p.m. 17 years.
These strict measures are intended to fight against myopia and addiction to screens among young people. To enforce them, China’s powerful internet watchdog, the China Cyberspace Administration, has rely on technical means.
The authorities want to impose on smartphone manufacturers a “ minor mode » : This feature can however be deactivated by the parents if they wish.
But the announcement of this new legislation is already having economic consequences. Several Chinese companies in the sector have seen their shares on the stock market fall.
According to China’s Cyberspace Administration, the new regulations will ” create a safe and healthy internet environment for minors “, in the wake of other measures taken in recent years to ” reduce the addition of minors to the internet “.
In recent years, China has already adopted similar measures. Since 2021, young Chinese are subject to a time limit for online games : three hours per week. At the time, China also had frozen new video game licenses for nine monthsagain with losses for companies.