China govt body recommends 2-hour daily phone use cap on children

Shares in IT companies fell on Wednesday after China’s internet regulator recommended that minors under the age of 18 limit their smartphone use to no more than two hours a day.

The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) stated that it wanted smart device manufacturers to implement so-called minor mode programmes that would prevent users under the age of 18 from using mobile devices to access the internet between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.

The CAC stated that the proposed amendments would require providers to set time limits.

Users between the ages of 16 and 18 would be given two hours every day, users between the ages of 8 and 16 would be given an hour, and users under the age of 8 would only be given eight minutes.

However, the CAC argued that service providers should give parents the option to waive the time restrictions for their children.

Investors expressed disinterest.

After the CAC issued its draught guidelines for public comment until September 2nd, shares of Chinese technology companies primarily declined in afternoon trading in Hong Kong.

While Tencent Holdings (0700.HK), which runs the social network app WeChat, closed 2.99% lower, Bilibili (9626.HK) and Kuaishou (1024.HK) both experienced declines of 6.98% and 3.53%, respectively.

Authorities have been more concerned in recent years about the prevalence of myopia and teen internet addiction.

Under-18 gamers were subject to a curfew in 2021, per the authorities. Gaming behemoths like Tencent suffered a severe blow as a result.

Since 2019, “teenage modes” have been available on video-sharing websites including Bilibili, Kuaishou, and ByteDance, which limit users’ access to content and usage time.

Teenagers are prohibited from using the TikTok-like ByteDance app Douyin for longer than 40 minutes.

The proposed regulations follow cues from Beijing that a protracted regulatory campaign on the IT sector has come to an end. Authorities have stated that they intend to assist the growth of tech behemoths.

(With agency inputs)