China turns on ‘minors mode’ that ensures kids only see wholesome socialist content online
- Reference: 1746160613
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2025/05/02/china_minors_mode_enabled/
- Source link:
Regulator the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) [1]delivered a spec for minors mode last year, and called for device manufacturers, developers and content providers to work together on a system that meant kids use of the internet could be controlled so they only see age-appropriate material.
The proposal called for kids to see different stuff as they age. The CAC wanted toddlers to be able to access songs and audio content to stop them turning into video zombies. The regulator wanted twelve-to-sixteen-year-olds to get news tuned to their cognitive capacity, wholesome entertainment news, and other material that promotes core socialist values.
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Beijing’s call for its tech industry to deliver was heeded – at speed – because minors mode was launched on April 29th.
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As explained in a CAC [5]announcement , new smartphones from Xiaomi, Honor and vivo come with minors mode loaded, while Huawei, OPPO and ZTE will deliver it in an OS update.
Big players in fields including short videos, social networking, e-commerce, and education have signed up for minors mode and will only serve appropriate content. They’ve apparently pledged to not just keep kids away from online nasties, but to develop content for minors.
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Parents can invoke minors mode with a single click and set usage time limits. Devices set to minors mode will even remind users to take breaks, and collect stats so parents can make sure their offspring are surfing the web in an age-appropriate and socialist fashion.
[7]China cracks down on personal information collection. No, seriously
[8]Imagine a land in which Big Tech can't send you down online rabbit holes or use algorithms to overcharge you
[9]China calls for realtime censorship of satellite broadband
[10]China wants red flags on all AI-generated content posted online
Plenty of parents around the world wouldn’t mind something like minors mode, and some online services have already delivered just-for-kids offerings like Google SafeSearch, Spotify kids, and Instagram’s Teen Accounts.
Governments outside China have tried to make the internet safer for kids, with instruments like the Online Safety Acts introduced by Australia and the UK. It’s debatable if those laws have made a big difference, as Australia is now moving to a ban on social media for under-16s and UK police recently [11]called for similar action. ®
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[1] https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/20/china_minor_mode/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aBSXvZ7sa6JUvdGChK1MmwAAAE0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aBSXvZ7sa6JUvdGChK1MmwAAAE0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aBSXvZ7sa6JUvdGChK1MmwAAAE0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://www.cac.gov.cn/2025-04/30/c_1747718890193706.htm
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aBSXvZ7sa6JUvdGChK1MmwAAAE0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/31/asia_tech_news_in_brief/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/25/china_algorithm_transparency/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2024/09/30/china_satellite_censorship/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2024/09/16/china_ai_content_draft_regulations/
[11] https://www.theguardian.com/media/2025/apr/12/uk-police-chiefs-call-for-ban-on-social-media-for-under-16s
[12] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Common sense or not ?
While we will use it to limit what kids can see based on a 17th century interpretation of a Bronze age mythology
Re: Common sense or not ?
You are entitled to your opinion, just don't confuse 'opinion' with 'fact'.
If you removed the political angle then I have to admit this is impressive. I've always been an advocate of it being the parents responsibility though. I mean you wouldn't let your 4 year old go out and not know where they are so why would you let them use the internet completely unsupervised. That's goes for any age up to adulthood. That doesn't mean sitting with them all the time. You block the shit you can and create an understanding that they discuss any shit they come across as they get older.
But what you have to remember is you are in the subset of educated, technically literate and responsible parents. This doesn't cover the majority of parents - some of whom want to supervise their children but don't know how, or are outsmarted by them, or feel their children are being impoverished by missing out on what their peers are doing so want collective action.
Also, from the age of about 12, I would be out and about without my parents having a clue where I was. (But our tolerance to risk, has certainly shifted.)
You missed of the category of parent that just doesn't care and is happy the digital device is entertaining their child so they don't have to.
It's a learned behaviour.
My lad is 3 years old and we've never put a phone on in front of him to watch anything. We'll put something on the TV for him when we're with him, and we're talking through it.
We'll be in a resturant and a kid the same age as my boy will be just sat their watching some shite on the tablet while the parents are either on their phone or doing something else entirely. No thought or process to what the child is doing or any engagement.
My boy will kick off if he's bored. But there are plenty of things around. Give him a toy car, sheet of paper, or even walk around and it occupies them. Or you could put a digital nanny in front of them and be done with it.
Parenting is fucking hard, especially as we're in a world now both parents have to work to stand still. If you've had a hard week, and a child who's particularly crap today, I don't blame them for opting for the digital nanny.
When one of my children was in primary school, they did a project about queen Victoria. Being a curious sort, my child did a search for Queen Victoria's husband, and I didn't quite twig what the child was typing in quite quickly enough..... Thank goodness for safesearch blurring. (and having the computer on the kitchen table whilst I cooked tea.)
Common sense or not ?
The article actually reads as though this a common sense move.
I presume that the CCP will use it as a propagandist tool but for the moment we can't see the content so we don't know yet. All government would probably exploit the same move, not just China.