China seems to be expanding its gaming restrictions for minors to include streaming and social media. This update to the existing regulations would require service providers to create a “youth mode” which limits the amount of time that minors are able to consume content. This would also restrict access to certain forms of content and prevent minors from spending large amounts of money on purchases. The measure is currently up for review by the public.
The bill was drafted in order to “create a healthy, civilized, and orderly network environment, protect the physical and mental health of minors, and to protect the legitimate rights and interests of minors in cyberspace.” The document points out how the "internet penetration rate" has reached almost 95 percent among minors. This goes on to note that while the internet represents a powerful means of communication, minors are frequently unable to handle the "illegal and bad information” which they come across online.
The new regulations are aimed at increasing “internet literacy among minors,” establishing “information content norms,” creating mechanisms for “protecting the personal information of minors,” and “controlling internet addiction.” They cover not only gaming but other forms of audio and visual entertainment including streaming and social media. The bill even requires hardware producers to “accept government and social supervision” by installing software with a “youth mode” on their devices before selling them to consumers.
Several companies including Tencent and iQIYI seem to have already gone about implementing the new regulations about gaming on their streaming and social media platforms. How this will impact their business going forward remains to be seen.
President of China Xi Jinping has previously stated that he wants to "strengthen cyberspace governance in accordance with the law, strengthen the construction of online content, and create a clean cyberspace for the majority of netizens, especially young people." This update to the gaming restrictions for minors represents the next step towards the accomplishment of this goal.