China Limits Smartphone Use For Children Under 18 To 2 Hours Per Day

JAKARTA - On Wednesday, August 2, China's cyberspace regulator announced that children under the age of 18 should be limited to the use of their smartphones to a maximum of two hours per day. This condition causes the shares of technology companies in China to fall.

Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) has stated that it wants smart device providers to introduce a "minor mode" program that will prohibit users under the age of 18 from accessing the internet on mobile devices from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Providers are also required to set a usage deadline under the proposed reforms by the CAC.

Users aged 16 to 18 years will be allowed to use their phones for two hours a day, children aged eight to 16 are given an hour, while children under the age of eight are only allowed eight minutes.

However, the CAC also states that service providers should allow parents to cancel time limits for their children.

Investors responded less enthusiastically. Shares of Chinese technology companies generally fell in the Hong Kong afternoon trade after the CAC published its draft guide, which will receive a public response until September 2.

Bilibili and Kuaishou shares fell 6.98% and 3.53%, respectively, while Tencent Holdings, which operates WeChat's social networking app, closed 2.99% lower.

Xia Hailong, a lawyer at Shanghai law firm Shenlun, said that this rule would be a problem for internet companies.

"And the risk of non-compliance will also be very high. So I believe that many internet companies may consider directly banning minors from using their services."

Authorities in recent years have become increasingly concerned about the level of myopia and internet addiction among young people.

In 2021, the government will impose a curfew for video gamers under the age of 18. This has had a major impact on gaming giants like Tencent.

Video sharing platforms such as Bilibili, Kuaishou, and ByteDance since 2019 have offered " Youth modes" that limit user access to content and usage duration.

ByteDance's TikTok-like app, Douyin, has banned teens from using the app for more than 40 minutes.

The proposed rule comes after a signal from Beijing that a years-long regulatory campaign against the tech industry is over. Authorities have stated they will support the development of major tech companies.