CHINA’S Internet overseer laid out regulations on Wednesday (Aug 2) to prevent minors from spending too much time on their smartphones, dealing a potential blow to Tencent Holdings and other social media leaders.

The regulations published by the Cyberspace Administration of China represent some of the harshest restrictions on Internet use in the world, as worries fester about online addiction. Among other things, “non-adult” children won’t be allowed to access the Internet from mobile devices from 10.00 pm to 6.00 am, the agency said in a draft of rules published on its website. Other restrictions include a maximum of two hours’ mobile usage for kids between the ages of 16 to 18.

Beijing since 2021 has pursued campaigns to alleviate the burden on minors and their families and combat what it views as social ills. It imposed limits on online gaming for kids and declared for-profit after-school tutoring illegal, measures regarded as intended to both lessen financial burdens and promote healthier activities. At one point in 2021, state-backed media referred to gaming as “spiritual opium.”

Tencent’s WeChat and ByteDance’s TikTok-like Douyin are among the most popular and heavily used Internet services in China, attracting a disproportionate number of minors. The CAC didn’t name any services except to say that platforms will be responsible for ensuring they meet the CAC’s requirements, which include promoting lullabies for children under 3 and educational news and entertainment content to those under 12.

Chinese technology shares were down in the late afternoon in Hong Kong, mostly extending losses from the morning. Kuaishou Technology, a short video service, slid about 4 per cent while social media app Weibo shed more than 5 per cent of its value. Tencent fell more than 3 per cent. ByteDance, the world’s most valuable startup, isn’t publicly traded.

The regulator said platform providers will be responsible for enforcement, although it didn’t specify penalties for violations. Companies in China are typically held accountable for implementing such government regulations. Under previous rules limiting game play for minors, companies required real-name registrations for users and then introduced technology to cut off customers outside of authorised times.

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The agency specified certain measures to ensure compliance, including periodic checks and assessments, as well as access to both technology and data on request – not atypical requirements in China, which since 2021 has laid down legislation that gave the government greater control of data nationwide.

“To strengthen protection of minors, in past years, the CAC has continued to push the construction of an Internet model for youths, expanded its reach, improved its functions and enriched age-appropriate content,” the agency said in the regulations, which seek public feedback and may change. “They’ve had a positive impact in lessening youth Internet addiction and curbing the impact of undesirable information.” BLOOMBERG