Screen Time for kids might be limited to as little as 40 minutes a day in China

Family Sharing lets parents limit Screen Time for kids, but in China, the government is proposing to impose tough limits by law …

Apple’s Family Sharing feature lets parents and guardians set a variety of Screen Time and other restrictions on iPhones used by their kids (at least, when a bug doesn’t stop them working …). But it seems China isn’t content to let parents decide how much screen time is appropriate: it is planning to impose legal limits.

CNBC reports that Chinese regulators are proposing a range of screen time limits, based on age:

• Under 8: 40 mins per day
• 8-15: One hour per day
• 16-17: Two hours per day

The radical draft rules laid out by the increasingly powerful Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) highlight Beijing’s desire to exert control over more parts of the country’s digital life.

The drafted rules require smartphones to have a “minor mode” for those under 18 years of age that should be easy to access when the device powers on, as either a home screen icon or in the system settings of the device.

Additionally, there would be curfew times applicable to all ages: A phone in minor mode should not be usable between 10pm and 6am. Content controls would also apply.

According to CAC, children under the age of three should be shown songs and audio-focused content. Those between 12 and 16 years of age can be exposed to educational and news content.

(For Chinese values of “news,” presumably …)

While technically only proposals for discussion, Chinese “consultations” can be counted on to find that the public fully supports the government view.

What’s unclear as yet is who would have responsibility for upholding the restrictions; it’s possible that Apple would be required to design them in to iPhones sold in China.

Photo: Pan Xiaozhen/Unsplash