Provisions on the Administration of Programs for Minors （2021）

Promulgation Date: 2021-10-8
Title: Provisions on the Administration of Programs for Minors
Document Number:
Expiration date: 
Promulgating Entities: State Administration of Radio and Television
Source of text: http://www.nrta.gov.cn/module/download/downfile.jsp?spm=chekydwncf.0.0.1.tknjZZ&classid=0&showname=%E6%9C%AA%E6%88%90%E5%B9%B4%E4%BA%BA%E8%8A%82%E7%9B%AE%E7%AE%A1%E7%90%86%E8%A7%84%E5%AE%9A.pdf&filename=5c070eb676944bd6bd015a24d17aa81f.pdf

Chapter I: General Provisions

Article 1: These Provisions are drafted on the basis of the "People's Republic of China Law on Protection of Minors", the "Measures on the Administration of Radio and Television", and other laws and administrative regulations, so as to regulate programs for minors, protect the physical and psychological health of minors, safeguard the lawful rights and interests of minors, and to educate and guide minors' cultivation and practice of the core socialist values.

Article 2: These Provisions apply to activities engaging in the production and broadcast of programs for minors.

"Programs for minors" as used in these Provisions include radio, television, and online audiovisual programs in which minors are the primary participants or minors are the primary audience.

Article 3: Those engaged in activities for the production or broadcast of programs for minors shall have the objective of cultivating new people for the era of the national revival, have their core mission as the cultivation and carrying forward the core socialist values, carry forward the exceptional traditional culture revolutionary culture, and advanced socialist culture of the Chinese people; persist in innovation and development, strengthen capacity for innovation, and conscientiously protect the lawful rights and interests of minors and respect the rules of development and growth of minors, to prompt the healthy upbringing of minors.

Article 4: Efforts to manage programs for minors are to persist in having the correct orientation, emphasize the protection and respect for minors' privacy, personal dignity, and other lawful rights and interests; persist in equally emphasizing education and protections, carry out social governance to prevent the trend of programs for minors from becoming commercialized and overly adult, or excessively entertaining.

Article 5: The State Council department for Radio and Television is responsible for supervision and management efforts of programs for minors for the entire nation.

The competent departments for Radio and Television of people's governments at the county level or above are responsible for supervision and management efforts of programs for minors in the corresponding administrative region.

Article 6: Radio, television, and online AV industry organizations shall draft industry self-discipline standards on programs for minors in accordance with law together with industry traits, strengthen education of professional ethics, truly perform social responsibility, promote communication on industry operations, and protect members' lawful rights and interests.

Article 7: The competent departments for radio and television are to follow relevant provisions to give commendations and awards to programs for minors that cultivate and carry forward the core socialist values, strengthen positive education, stick close to actual life, have innovative content forms, create positive social effect, or have outstanding performance in other areas; as well as to organizations and individuals who make outstanding contributions in the production and broadcast of programs for minors.

Chapter II: Program Specifications

Article 8: The State supports and encourages the production and broadcast of programming for minors that has the following content which:

(1) Cultivates and carries forward the Core Socialist Values.

(2) Carries forward the exceptional culture of the Chinese people, revolutionary culture, and advanced socialist culture;

(3) Guides in the establishment of a correct world view, outlook on life, and values;

(4) Carries forward traditional Chinese family values, establishing positive family environments;

(5) Befitting the rules and characteristics of minors' physical and psychological development;

(6) Protects minors' lawful rights and interests, and feelings, and embodies humanistic care;

(7) Reflects a mental outlook of healthy living and active improvement for minors;

(8) Spreads knowledge of the natural and social sciences;

(9) Other content eligible for national support and encouragement policies.

Article 9: Programs for minors must not include the following content:

(1) Portrays violence, gore, or terror, or that instigates crimes or conveys criminal methods;

(2) Themes and images involving sexuality, other than healthy and scientific sex education.

(3) Themes and issues that affirm or praise young love for minors;

(4) Berating, distorting, or using improper methods to present the exceptional culture of the Chinese people, revolutionary culture, or advanced socialist culture;

(5) Distorting or parodying ethnic history or figures in ethnic history, disparaging, profaning, or denying the deeds and spirit of heroes and martyrs;

(6) Promoting, beautifying, or adulating countries, events or people that previously launched wars of aggression or colonial rule against our nation,

(7) Promoting cults, superstition,or decadent and depraved ideologies;

(8) Promoting or affirming negative views of family, marriage, and interests;

(9) Overemphasizing or over-representing wealth, family background, and social position;

(10) Introducing or presenting suicide, self-mutilation, or other dangerous conduct or games that are readily imitated by minors;

(11) Showing drug use, abuse of narcotics, psychotropic drugs, and other illicit drugs;

(12) Showing smoking, tobacco sales, or excessive drinking;

(13) Presenting negative behavior and conduct such as that which goes against social mores disrupts social order;

(14) Portraying gang or organized crime rituals of any kind;

(15) Publicizing or introducing online games that are not conducive to minors' physical and mental health;

(16) other content prohibited by laws or administrative regulations.

Where for the purpose of popularizing science, educating, or giving warnings, it is truly necessary to produce and disseminate programs with the content described above, a clear reminder shall be made by image, voice, or other methods, with conspicuous placement based on the program content, and appropriate processing of images or sounds is to be carried out to avoid unnecessary presentation.

Article 10: Non-advertisement programs that use minors or characters that are minors to advance commercial publicity must not be produced or broadcast;

The production or broadcast of singing or other contest shows, talk shows or reality shows in which minors participate shall comply with the requirements of the State Council department for radio and television.

Article 11: Radio and television broadcast bodies, online A/V program service bodies, and program production bodies, shall produce and broadcast programs for minors that correspond to the different physical and psychological development of minors at different ages, and give clear notices through methods such as images or audio.

Article 12: Invitations for minors to participate in program production shall first get the consent of their legally-prescribed guardians. Minors' participation in the production of programs must not be forced or induced through methods such as intimidation, enticement, or purchase.

Production of programs for minors shall safeguard the security of participating minors in their persons and property, as well as sufficient time for study and rest.

Article 13: In the course of producing programs for minors, the private information of minors and their close relatives must not be disclosed, and minors must not be enticed to disclose it, minors must not be asked to express viewpoints that exceed their capacity for judgment.

In cases of violations or crimes by minors that truly need to be reported, the name, residence, photo, and picture of the minors involved in the case must not be disclosed, as well as any materials from which the identity of minor parties might be deduced. For images and audio that cannot avoid having the content contained above, technological processing shall be employed to reach standards for concealing identities.

Article 14: Where minors are invited to participate in the production of programs, their apparrel and performance shall fit with the characteristics of the minors age and the features of the era, and minors must not be enticed to discuss topics such as fame, fortune, and love.

Programs for minors must not promote the child star effect, packaging and hyping interest in celebrity children.

Article 15: Programs for minors shall strictly control competitive rankings and must not set up material rewards that are too high, must not entice minors to seek votes or ask minors what it feels like to lose and be eliminated.

Emotional or conflict resolution type programs shall respect and protect the feelings of minors, and must not interview minors about household disputes and conflicts, must not request that minors participate in the program to record and on-scene mediation, and are to avoid having minors witness family conflict and emotional disputes with their own eyes.

Programs for minors must not give minors tests of character or morals in any form, magnifying negative phenomena and irrational emotions.

Article 16: The hosts of programs for children shall lawfully obtain professional certification, must not have words, deeds,and appearances that make minors uncomfortable, and perform their duty to guide and control during the program.

Programs for minors that have guests shall follow the State Council department for radio and television's provisions to make morals and character the primary standard, strictly selecting and strengthening training, and must not select persons that have caused negative social impact through scandals and misdeeds or illegal and criminal conduct; and increase the proportion of guests from the general public.

Article 17: Domestically produced original programs for minors shall actively reflect the substance of Chinese culture, and the use of foreign names, place names, clothing, images, and backgrounds shall meet with the needs of the story.

The language in programs for minors shall comply with provisions of law related to use of language.

Article 18: Advertisements broadcast before, after, and during programs for minors shall respect the following rules:

(1) Channels, frequencies, feature areas, links, and pages specially for children must not play advertisements for healthcare, medicine, health foods, medical instruments, makeup, alcohol, cosmetic surgery, and online games that are not conducive to the physical and mental health of minors, as well as other advertisements not suitable for minors to watch, and the advertisements described above must not played before or after other programs for minors;

(2) Advertisements for goods or services targeting minors under 14 years-old must not include content inducing them to request their parents purchase the goods or services,or that might lead them to imitate unsafe conduct.

(3) Minors who are not yet 18 years old must not be used as advertising spokespersons.

(4) During school's winter and summer breaks, radio and television programs for minors must not have in excess of 12 minutes of advertising per hour.

(5) Advertisements must not be inserted or displayed in online audiovisual programs for minors or during the pause function, and the length of advertisements between content must not exceed 30 seconds.

Chapter III: Broadcast Specifications

Article 19: Frequencies and channels for minors shall increase capacity for production and broadcast of programs for minors through means such producing them oneself, purchasing, and program exchanges; increasing the quality and level of professionalism of frequencies and channels; and satisfying the demand of the juvenile audience.

Online A/V program service bodies shall use clear methods to clearly indicate special areas established for the programs for minors that they broadcast, and specially broadcast programs suitable for minors to listen to or watch.

Special channels, frequencies, and web areas for minors, must not broadcast programs that are not suitable for minors to listen to or watch.

Article 20: Radio and television broadcast establishments and online A/V service bodies shall follow relevant provisions to perform obligations to conduct pre-broadcast reviews of all programs for minors that are broadcast or uploaded by users; and for live programs shall employ necessary technical measures such as delayed broadcasts and standby program substitutions to ensure that the programs for minors that are broadcast do not contain the content prohibited by article 9 of these Provisions.

Article 21: Radio and television broadcast bodies and online A/V programming service bodies shall establish a system of having specialized personnel for the protection of minors, arranging for persons with juvenile protection work experience or educational background to take responsibility for pre-broadcast review of programs for minors and advertisements, and issue recommendations to adjust the broadcast time or suspend broadcast of programs or advertisements, that are not suitable for minors to listen to or or watch; with suspensions being implemented after the departments for programming review organize an expert deliberation.

Article 22: Radio and Television broadcast institutions and online A/V service bodies shall put recognizable reminders to take a break in a conspicuous position at least once every thirty minutes during the broadcast of programs for minors.

Article 23: The programs broadcast by radio and television broadcast establishments between 8:00-23:00 each day during legally prescribed holidays and schools' winter and summer breaks, and from between 15:00-22:00 each day when it is not a legally-prescribed holiday or school's winter and summer breaks, shall be suitable for all groups to hear and watch.

The ratio of children's programs broadcast on frequencies and channels that are dedicated for minors shall meet the requirements of the department for radio and television under the State Council, and between the hours of 5 PM and 10 PM they shall broadcast domestic cartoons or other programs for minors, and must not broadcast television shows or imported programs, but where it is truly necessary to broadcast exceptional children's television shows during this time, they shall meet the requirements of the department for radio and television under the State Council.

The proportion of domestic and foreign cartoons broadcast or provided by special channels, frequencies, or online areas for minors shall comport with the provisions of the State Council's department for radio and television.

Article 24: Where online users upload programs including images or information on minors without the consent of the legally-designated guardians, the legally-designated guardians have the right to notify the online A/V programming service body to employ necessary measures such as deletion, blocking, or disconnecting links. After online A/V programming service bodies receive notice and confirm identities, they shall promptly employ relevant measures.

Article 25: Online A/V programming service bodies shall establish public oversight and reporting systems for programs for minors that are uploaded by network users. After receiving written reports from the public, and finding upon review that a program contains content prohibited by the first paragraph of article 9, or that it is a type of program prohibited by the first paragraph of article 10, the online A/V programming service bodies shall promptly employ necessary measures such as deletion, blocking, or breaking links.

Article 26: Radio and Television broadcast institutions and online A/V service bodies shall establish a assessment committee for programs for minors comprised of experts on the protection of minors, parent representatives, teacher representatives, and others, to periodically conduct assessment of programs for minors and advertisements before, during, and after they are broadcast. When necessary minors may be invited to participate in assessment. The assessment opinions shall be a major basis for the continued broadcast or adjustment of the programs, and the departments reviewing relevant programs shall make a written explanation of decisions to accept or reject assessment opinions.

Article 27: Radio and Television broadcast institutions and online A/V programming service bodies shall establish systems for public assessment of programs for minors, and promptly disclose in an appropriate manner any situations of programs improved.

Article 28: The assessment committee's work, the commissioner for the protection of minor's performance of their duties, and public assessment shall be the major content of the annual reports.

The assessment committee's work, the commissioner for the protection of minor's performance of their duties, and public assessment shall be the major content of the annual reports.

Chapter IV: Oversight and Management

Article 29: The competent departments for radio and television shall establish and complete systems for monitoring programs for minors, using routine monitoring, special inspections, onsite spot checks, and other such methods to strengthen supervision and management of programs for minors.

Article 30: The competent departments for radio and television shall establish systems for reporting illegal conduct in programs for minors, announcing telephone numbers, addresses, and other contact information for reports.

All units and individuals have the right to report programs for minors that violate these Provisions. Competent departments for radio and television that receive reports shall record them and promptly conduct and investigation and handling in accordance with law; where they are not within the scope of that department's duties, they shall promptly transfer it to the relevant departments.

Article 31: Based on these Provisions, national industry associations for radio, television, and information network A/V, shall draft specific industry standards for reviewing the content of programs for minors, strengthening training of practitioners, and making annual written reports on the training situation to the State Council department fro radio and television.

Chapter V: Legal Responsibility

Article 32: Where these Provisions are violated by the production or broadcast of programs for minors that contain content prohibitted by the first paragraph of article 9 of these Provisions; or by producing programs for popular science, education, or cautionary purposes contain content that is prohibitted in the first paragraph of article 9 but have not put up a clear reminder or carried out technical processing; or where producing or broadcasting types of programs for minors that are prohibited by article 10 of these Provisions, punishment is to be given in accordance with article 39 of the "Regulations on the Administration of Radio and Television."

Article 33: Where these Provisions are violated by the broadcast of advertisements in excess of permissible time limits or broadcast of domestic and foreign cartoons in proportions not compliant with the provisions of the State Council department on radio and television, punishment is given in accordance with article 50 of the "Regulations on the Administration of Radio and Television."

Article 34: Violations of articles 11-17, 19-22, paragraphs 1 or 2 of article 23, or articles 24-28 are to be ordered corrected within a certain time or given warnings by the competent departments of radio and television on people's governments at the county level or above, and may be given a concurrent fine of up to 30,000 RMB. Violations of articles item 1-3 of these Provisions are to be punished by the relevant departments in accordance with law.

Article 35: Where establishments producing radio or television programs, radio and television broadcast establishments , or online A/V programming service bodies violate these Provisions, their regulatory department or a unit authorized for handling, shall give punishments or sanctions to the responsible managers or directly responsible personnel in accordance with law; where a serious social impact was caused, the competent departments for radio and television may send notice to the regulatory department or unit authorized for handling and submit a recommendation for punishment or sanctions of the responsible managers and directly responsible personnel, and may follow up as to subsequent consequences.

Article 36: Where employees of the competent departments for radio and television abuse their authority, derelict their duties, twist the law for personal gain, or fail to perform their duties in accordance with these provisions, the responsible managers and directly responsible personnel are to be given sanctions in accordance with law.

Chapter VI: Supplemental Provisions

Article 37: 'Online A/V programming service bodies' as used in these Provisions refers to internet A/V program service bodies and private networks, private network service bodies directly transmitting A/V programs.

School's winter and summer breaks as used in these provisions refers to the periods designated by the administrative departments for education administration for the location the radio or television broadcast establishment or the location where online A/V programming service bodies are registered.

Article 38: For programs that do not constitute programs for minors as referred to in these Provisions, but that have content such as images or information on minors, content regulations and legal responsibility are to be implemented with reference to these Provisions.

Article 39: This regulation shall come into effect on April 30, 2019.