Soliciting opinions from the National Cyberspace Administration: comprehensively upgrading the "youth mode" to the "minors mode" information | content | services | provision | network | mobile intelligent terminals | mode | minors
Notice of the State Internet Information Office on Publicly Soliciting Opinions on the Guidelines for the Construction of Mobile Internet Juvenile Models
In order to effectively strengthen the online protection of minors, in recent years, the National Cyberspace Administration has guided website platforms to continue promoting the construction of the youth model, expanding coverage, optimizing function settings, and enriching age appropriate content. Since its launch, the popularity of the model has steadily increased, playing a positive role in helping minors reduce their internet addiction and negative information impact.
In order to further improve the effectiveness of the model, based on the new situation and new requirements of minors' network protection, the National Cyberspace Office has studied and drafted the Guidelines for the Construction of Mobile Internet Minors' Model, which will comprehensively upgrade the "youth model" to the "minors model", promote the expansion of the model coverage from APP to mobile intelligent terminals and application stores, realize the three-way linkage of software and hardware, facilitate users' one click access to the model, and create a safe and healthy network environment for minors. We are now publicly soliciting opinions and suggestions from all sectors of society and welcome active participation. The public can provide feedback through the following channels and methods:
1. Send via email to: wcnrms@cac.gov.cn .
2. Send your comments by letter to the Network Comprehensive Administration Bureau of the State Internet Information Office, No. 11 Chegongzhuang Street, Xicheng District, Beijing, 100044, and please mark the envelope with the words "Consultation Guide for the Construction of Mobile Internet Juvenile Model".
The deadline for feedback is September 2, 2023.
National Internet Information Office
August 2, 2023
Mobile Internet minor model construction guide
1、 Purpose basis
In order to give better play to the positive role of the Internet, create a good network environment, prevent and interfere with the problem of minors' Internet addiction, and guide minors to form a good habit of using the Internet, this guide is formulated in accordance with the Cyber Security Law of the People's Republic of China, the Personal Information Protection Law of the People's Republic of China, the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Minors and other laws and administrative regulations, as well as the relevant provisions on the protection of minors' networks.
2、 Applicable scope
This guide specifies the basic requirements, functional requirements and management requirements that all kinds of mobile intelligent terminals, mobile Internet applications and mobile Internet application distribution service platforms should meet for the minors' mode, which is applicable to the development and application of minors' mode by mobile intelligent terminal providers, application providers, application distribution platform providers and other relevant subjects.
3、 General specifications
Tripartite linkage
The linkage between mobile intelligent terminals, applications, and application distribution platforms should be achieved:
1. The underage mode should have an automatic switching function. After one click activation of the underage mode on the mobile intelligent terminal, the application and application distribution platform should automatically switch to the underage mode interface; After the mobile intelligent terminal exits the minor mode, the application and application distribution platform should automatically switch to the normal mode interface.
2. The underage mode should support parents or underage users to set up unified settings on multiple mobile smart terminals through their accounts. Users can automatically copy the existing configurations of other mobile intelligent terminals under the unified account by logging in and enabling it locally.
3. Necessary interfaces and data sharing should be provided between mobile intelligent terminals, applications, and application distribution platforms to meet functions such as anti addiction reminders for minors and parental supervision and management.
Convenient to use
To protect the personal information rights and interests of minors, parents are encouraged to activate the minors mode. Mobile intelligent terminals, applications, and application distribution platforms should provide convenient functions and services for parents to manage, facilitate parents to fulfill their guardianship responsibilities, and guide minors to form good internet habits.
2. Mobile intelligent terminals, applications, and application distribution platforms should adhere to the principle of being most beneficial to minors, provide effective identification of illegal information and information that may affect the physical and mental health of minors, prevent minors from becoming addicted to the internet, and strengthen network protection for minors.
3. Mobile intelligent terminals, applications, and application distribution platforms should establish convenient, reasonable, and effective complaint and reporting channels in the minors mode, and promptly accept and handle complaints and reports related to minors.
Age based principle
Mobile intelligent terminals, applications, and application distribution platforms should provide information and services suitable for the physical and mental development of minors at different age groups by evaluating product types, content, and functions based on their developmental characteristics. Age based design is divided into the following 5 age groups:
1. Under the age of 3;
2.3 years old and above but under 8 years old;
3.8 years old and above but under 12 years old;
4.12 Over the age of 12 but under the age of 16;
5.16 years old and above but under 18 years old.
4、 Requirements for underage mode of mobile intelligent terminals
Basic Requirements
1. Entrance to Minors Mode
The entrance setting for the minor mode should ensure the principle of simplification. Users can enter underage mode through at least three methods, including startup reminders, desktop icons, and system settings. The mode entrance should be located in a fixed location, convenient and easy to find, to meet the one click access or switching needs of parents and minors.
When users log in to the minor mode for the first time, the mobile intelligent terminal should provide multiple ways for users to choose from at the entrance, such as setting birthdays, selecting age or age range, and allowing multiple minor information to be set.
Users can choose not to require minors mode during the first boot or system settings, and the system will no longer display relevant reminders.
2. Minors mode exit
When exiting the minors mode, parents need to verify and agree. Based on the existing mobile intelligent terminal authentication mechanism, parents can choose to use password, fingerprint, facial recognition and other recognition methods for single or composite verification.
Usage duration management
1. Mobile intelligent terminals should provide differentiated usage duration management services for minors of different age groups. When the daily usage limit is exceeded, the mobile intelligent terminal should automatically close all other applications except for specific necessary applications and parent defined exemption applications:
In the mode for minors under the age of 8, mobile smart terminals should support a default total usage time of no more than 40 minutes, and provide parental exemption operations;
In the mode for minors aged 8 and above but under 16, mobile smart terminals should support a default total usage time of no more than 1 hour, and provide parental exemption operations;
In the mode for minors aged 16 and above but under 18, mobile smart terminals should support a default total usage time of no more than 2 hours, and provide parental exemption operations;
In the underage mode, when the underage user continuously uses the mobile intelligent terminal for more than 30 minutes, the mobile intelligent terminal should issue a rest reminder;
In minors mode, mobile intelligent terminals are prohibited from providing services to minors between 22:00 and 6:00 the next day;
The following applications and businesses are not subject to the aforementioned usage duration and time period restrictions:
① Emergency category: products and services used to ensure the personal safety of minors, including emergency call services and customized applications for mobile intelligent terminals to ensure the personal safety of minors;
② Education: products and services that are registered with relevant regulatory authorities and provide educational services such as online courses for minors;
③ Tools suitable for minors: products and services certified by application distribution platforms that are suitable for the physical and mental development of minors, such as some image processing, computational measurement applications, etc;
④ Parents can customize applications that can be exempted.
In the underage mode of mobile intelligent terminals, parents should at least meet the following functions when using the time control function:
Set the usage time of the entire mobile intelligent terminal;
Set the usage time period for the entire mobile intelligent terminal, and one or more usage time periods can be set according to specific needs;
Set the specified application usage time;
Minors are prohibited from modifying the system date and time of mobile smart terminals.
Anti bypass requirements
1. Mobile intelligent terminals should have anti bypass function. After entering the minor mode, the mobile intelligent terminal should be verified and confirmed by parents before performing operations such as exiting the minor mode or restoring factory settings.
2. Mobile intelligent terminals that enable minors mode should ensure that the icon providing minors mode service function always remains on the desktop level page, is not uninstalled, frozen, or hidden, and the process is not forced to end.
3. In underage mode, if you need to activate developer mode, it should be verified and confirmed by parents.
Supplementary requirements
1. Due to the immature physiological and psychological development of minors in terms of vision, hearing, and other aspects, it is encouraged that mobile intelligent terminals use technological means to reduce or eliminate the potential hazards that minors may encounter during the use of mobile intelligent terminals.
2. Mobile intelligent terminals should provide services for minors to urgently send location and make calls to associated parent user terminals.
3. Children's smart devices such as smartwatches, early education machines, smart speakers, and virtual reality/augmented reality wearable devices should comply with the relevant provisions of this regulation when providing services to minors, ensuring the security and controllability of information content, and preventing minors from becoming addicted to the internet or coming into contact with information that may affect their physical and mental health.
4. The youth mode in existing applications should be retained in the normal mode of mobile intelligent terminals and upgraded according to the relevant requirements of this guide to provide security protection for minors using existing applications in normal mode.
5、 Mobile Internet application minors mode requirements
Basic Requirements
In the minors mode, mobile Internet information service providers should provide age specific content services for minors and create a dedicated content pool. The recommended age appropriate content is as follows:
1. Under 3 years old: Recommended parent-child companionship programs such as nursery rhymes and enlightenment education, with audio as the main content;
2.3 years old and above but less than 8 years old: Recommend program content such as enlightenment education, interest literacy, and general education;
3.8 years old and above but under 12 years old: recommend general education, knowledge popularization, life skills, entertainment content with positive guiding significance, and news and information suitable for the cognitive ability of this age group;
4.12 years old and above but under 16 years old: Recommended general education, subject education, knowledge popularization, life skills, entertainment content with positive guiding significance, and news and information suitable for the cognitive ability of this age group.
5.16 years old and above but under 18 years old: Recommend information content that is suitable for this age group's cognitive ability, health, and progress.
Mobile Internet information service providers are encouraged to recommend and label the content in the exclusive content pool for minors according to age requirements.
Content security requirements
In the minors mode, mobile Internet information service providers should perform the main responsibility to ensure the security of information content contacted by minors:
1. Mobile Internet information service providers should actively carry out the construction of minors' content pool under the minors' mode. Produce, replicate, publish, and disseminate online information that promotes the core socialist values, advanced socialist culture, revolutionary culture, and excellent traditional Chinese culture, strengthens the sense of community of the Chinese nation, cultivates patriotism and good character among minors, guides them to develop good living and behavioral habits, and creates a clear online space and good online ecology conducive to the healthy growth of minors.
2. The mobile Internet information service provider shall perform the main responsibility, and under the minors mode, it shall not provide minors with any form of products and services that induce them to indulge or are detrimental to their physical and mental health:
It is prohibited to use the internet to create, copy, publish, or disseminate information containing harmful content to the physical and mental health of minors, and to send information containing harmful or potentially affecting the physical and mental health of minors to minors;
It is prohibited to produce, copy, publish, disseminate or possess obscene and pornographic online information related to minors, and it is also prohibited to lure or force minors to produce, copy, publish, or disseminate text, images, audio and video that may expose their personal privacy;
It is prohibited to produce, copy, publish, or disseminate information that may cause or induce minors to imitate unsafe behavior, engage in behaviors that violate social ethics, generate negative emotions, develop bad habits, and other information that may affect the physical and mental health of minors.
Functional limitation requirements
Under the minors mode, mobile Internet information service providers should restrict minors to use products and services that may endanger their physical and mental health:
1. Network service providers such as live streaming, online audio and video, and online social networking should set corresponding time management, permission management, and consumption management functions for minors to use their services.
2. Network service providers such as live streaming, online audio and video, and online social networking should take measures to reasonably limit the single consumption and daily cumulative consumption of minors in using online products and services, and shall not provide paid services to minors that do not match their civil capacity.
3. In the mode of minors, it is not allowed to set up online communities, groups, or topics with themes such as fundraising, voting, and rating control. It is also not allowed to use entertainment oriented functions and content to induce minors to become addicted to the internet.
4. The anti addiction requirements for online games should comply with relevant management regulations.
5. Online education network products and services shall not insert links to online games, nor push advertisements or other information unrelated to teaching.
6. Algorithm recommendation service providers shall not push information to minors that may cause them to imitate unsafe behavior, violate social ethics, induce unhealthy habits, or other information that may affect their physical and mental health. They shall not use algorithm recommendation services to induce minors to become addicted to the internet.
7. Encourage application developers to comply with relevant laws and regulations, develop applications that adapt to the laws and characteristics of the physical and mental health development of minors, and help minors cultivate good network literacy.
Social management requirements
1. The application should provide social management permissions for minors and parents, allowing them to follow or block specific users, and limiting the scope of specific information disclosure.
2. Social applications should not provide an external chain for minors who are prone to network addiction or contact Internet information that is not conducive to their physical and mental health.
3. Applications other than instant messaging tools should disable the stranger private messaging function in minors mode.
6、 Requirements for minor mode of mobile Internet application distribution service platform
Basic Requirements
1. The application distribution platform should provide a dedicated area for minors to access products or services within the platform that are beneficial to their physical and mental health;
2. The application distribution platform should label the recommended age of the application based on the physical and mental characteristics and cognitive level of minors in different age groups, and provide suitable applications for minors in different age groups.
Requirements for the construction of juvenile zones
The application distribution platform should strengthen the construction of special zones for minors in accordance with relevant management requirements:
1. Application providers should adhere to the principle of being most beneficial to minors, pay attention to the healthy growth of minors, fulfill various obligations of network protection for minors, strictly implement the requirements for real name registration and login of minors, and shall not provide relevant products and services that induce their addiction to minors in any form.
2. Encourage educational, puzzle, science popularization, reading, music, sports and other applications that are beneficial to the physical and mental health of minors to be launched in the minors section.
3. Applications that are clearly prohibited by relevant departments based on the characteristics of each age group shall not be listed on application distribution platforms under the mode of minors.
Download Security
The application distribution platform should review and dispose of various types of network applications and service access modes for minors in accordance with relevant laws and regulations:
1. Clearly identify the age group of underage users that the product is suitable for, and prominently display prompts on the user download, registration, login interface, and other locations.
2. The application distribution platform should provide differentiated download services for underage users based on their age characteristics, and ensure that parents can review or exempt application downloads and installations in underage mode:
Minors under the age of 12 who download or install applications in the Minors section must obtain parental consent; Parents have certain exemption powers to allow minors to download applications outside of the minors zone;
Minors aged 12 and above but less than 16 can download and install applications in the Minors section on their own. Parents have certain exemption rights and allow minors to download applications outside the Minors section.
3. It is prohibited to download applications through external links, except for those approved and exempted by parents.
4. The application distribution platform should establish relevant reporting mechanisms to strengthen user supervision of information content and services in the minors mode. If necessary, relevant applications should be delisted according to relevant management requirements.
7、 Parental management
Basic Requirements
In the underage mode, mobile intelligent terminals, applications, and application distribution platforms should provide parents with management permissions to ensure that parents can manage designated underage users in daily and emergency situations, and better supervise and guide underage users' online behavior:
1. Mobile intelligent terminals, applications, and application distribution platforms should provide parents with management permissions for minors in terms of usage duration, information service reception, application download and installation, etc., to meet the supervision, exemption, and review needs of parents for minors.
2. Mobile intelligent terminals should provide at least one family ID binding as a parent account for minors, which can meet the needs of parents and minors using the same or different terminals, and can be associated with both applications and application distribution platforms.
Parental management of the usage time of mobile intelligent terminals for minors
Mobile smart terminals and applications should provide anti addiction reminders for minors and their parents, allowing parents to supervise and guide the usage time of mobile smart terminals for minors:
1. Mobile intelligent terminals should regularly provide parents with overview reports on the usage time, application usage time, and internet usage time of underage users in underage mode, to assist parents in monitoring underage online behavior.
2. When the usage time of minor users exceeds the recommended time limit in this regulation, minor users can apply for exemption to the associated parent users.
Parental management of information services for minors
Parents can use associated accounts to provide review and exemption functions for information content in the minors mode:
1. Parents can exempt information from non exclusive content pools and add it to the content pool of designated minors.
2. Encourage parents to annotate and provide suggestions for the content of non exclusive content pools, providing a basis for enriching the construction of exclusive content pools on the platform.
Parental management of the use of apps by minors
Parents can use associated accounts to review app downloads in minors mode, exempt or prohibit users from downloading and installing specific apps. Including:
1. Provide always exempted permissions for specific applications, such as granting long-term usage permissions to minors for auxiliary educational applications.
2. Provide limited time usage permissions for specific applications, such as granting specific time slots for tool applications suitable for the physical and mental development of minors as needed.
3. Set specific applications and features to always prohibit use, during which relevant applications must not pop up notifications or be accessed for use.
4. Applications and services that are explicitly prohibited by relevant regulations from being used by minors shall not be exempted.
8、 Management requirements
Mobile intelligent terminals, applications, and application distribution platforms should actively cooperate with relevant management departments for supervision and inspection, and provide necessary technical, data, and other support and assistance.
Mobile intelligent terminals, applications, and application distribution platforms that provide services to underage users should regularly conduct impact assessments on underage network protection.
Mobile intelligent terminals, applications, and application distribution platforms that provide services to minors should establish necessary emergency response mechanisms to ensure that emergency services that protect the personal safety of minors are not blocked.
In the minors mode, mobile Internet information service providers should provide services in accordance with relevant laws and regulations, and should not collect user data beyond the scope.
Appendix Terms and Definitions
Minors mode
The "minor model" in this Guide refers to the network protection model that adapts to the laws and characteristics of the development of physical and mental health of minors, is specifically used by minors, and covers mobile intelligent terminals, mobile Internet applications and mobile Internet application distribution platforms.
Mobile intelligent terminal
Mobile smart terminals refer to mobile terminal products that are connected to public mobile communication networks, have operating systems, and can be installed, run, and uninstalled by users themselves. They include smart terminals such as smartphones, tablets, children's smartwatches, early education machines, and smart wearable devices.
Mobile Internet applications
Mobile Internet applications refer to software that provides users with services such as text, pictures, audio, video and other information production, copying, publishing, and dissemination through applications.
Mobile Internet application distribution service platform
Mobile Internet application distribution service platform refers to a platform that provides services such as application publishing, downloading, and dynamic loading through the Internet, including application stores, application centers, Internet applet platforms, etc.