Regulations on the Protection of Minors Online (Draft for Deliberation)

Regulations on the Protection of Minors Online

(Draft for Deliberation)

Chapter I: General Provisions

Article 1: These Regulations are drafted on the basis of the "People's Republic of China Law on Protection of Minors" so as to create a healthy, civilized and orderly internet environment, and to ensure the minors' security in cyberspace, protect minors lawful rights and interests online, and to promote the healthy upbringing of minors.

Article 2: The state protects minors' lawful online activity; ensures minors' fair, full, and reasonable use of the networks; ensure minors' avoid encroachment of unlawful online content; avoid minors encountering information that is unsuitable for them; protect minors' online personal information; and prevent minors from becoming addicted to the internet.

Article 3: The State Council and all levels of local people's government should make efforts to protect minors online an important component of efforts to protect minors, including it in citizens' economic and social development plan as well as annual plans, and related expenses are to be entered into that level of government's budget.

Departments such as for network information, education, industry and information, public security, health and family planning, industry and commerce, and PPRT [press, publication, radio and television] are to carry out efforts for the online protection of minors on the basis of their respective duties.

Communist youth leagues, womens associations, and social groups with responsibility for establishing the ideological and moral establishment of minors, are to assist relevant departments in carrying out education on online safety for minors, spreading knowledge about networks, preventing minors addiction to the internet, and other efforts to protect minors online.

Article 4: The State encourages relevant industries to participate in efforts to protect minors online, to draft self-discipline regulations on protection of minors online for that industry, and guide the industry's member organizations to strengthen protections for minors online.

Article 5: The State, society, and schools are to assist and guide minors and their guardians in learning about the networks, raising network literacy, educating and guiding minors to correctly use the networks, and preventing and correcting minors' inappropriate online conduct.

Chapter II: Construction of Online Information Content

Article 6: The State encourages the use of cyberspace to promote the socialist core values, exceptional ethnic culture and traditional virtues; advocating the creation, provision, and transmission of online cultural products conducive to minors' healthy upbringing, and establishing a spiritual home for minors.

The State supports the establishment of specialized websites, programs, and other online content platforms conducive to the healthy upbringing of minors, supports the production of online content conducive to the healthy upbringing of minors, and supports research, development and spread of network technology conducive the healthy upbringing of minors.

Article 7: Information in violation of laws, administrative regulations, and departmental rules must not be created, published, or transmitted in cyberspace by any organization or individual.

Where network information service providers provide online platform services, they shall conduct reviews of information published on them; and where information in violation of laws, administrative regulations, or departmental rules is discovered, shall employ measures to delete it or block it, and report it to the relevant departments.

Article 8: Where any organization or individual makes, publishes, or transmits information in cyberspace that complies with paragraph one of article 7 of these regulations, but has the following content which is unsuitable for minors, they shall place a warning in a conspicuous place before the contend is displayed:

(1) that which might lead minors to commit violence, bullying, suicide, self-injury, sexual contact, vagrancy, begging or other negative conduct;

(2) that which might lead minors to use tobacco, alcohol, or other products not suitable for minors;

(3) that which might lead minors to have negative emotions such as hating learning, cynicism, self-loathing, or depression;

(4) others that might cause negative impacts to minors' physical and psychological health.

Where network information service providers provide online platform services, they shall conduct reviews of information published on them; and where information provided for in the preceding paragraph is discovered, measures shall be employed to carry pre-display notices in a conspicuous manner.

Article 9: As necessary for the work of protecting minors online, and on the basis of their respective duties, the State network information departments and the State Council departments of culture, PPRT, and so forth, are to draft policies on the management of unlawful information and information unsuitable for minors, and guide relevant industry organizations to draft specific standards.

Article 10: The State encourages and supports research and development, and production and promotion, of software for the protection of minors online.

State network information departments, together with State Council departments such as for Industry and Information, organize the drafting of policies on the research and development, and production and promotion, of software for the protection of minors online, and organizes their implementation.

Article 11: Where schools, libraries, cultural centers, youth centers, and other public interest venues provide facilities for minors to go online, they shall install software for the protection of minors online, to avoid minors encountering unlawful information and information not suitable for minors.

Article 12: When manufacturers of smart terminal products ship inventory, and before importers of smart terminal product sell their inventory, they shall install software for the protection of minors online, or facilitate the installation of software for the protection of minors online and inform users in a conspicuous manner about the channels and methods installation.

Chapter III: Safeguards for Minors' Rights and Interests Online

Article 13: On the basis of local economic and social development conditions, people's governments at the county level or above shall plan and construct public interest internet venues, expanding and regulating minors healthy channels for going online.

The State encourages and supports social organizations participation in the establishment of public interest internet venues; primary and secondary education schools are to lawfully set up public interest internet venues and other free network facilities for minors.

Article 14: Minors' guardians shall increase their network literacy; shall educate, guide, and supervise minors proper use of the networks; and shall promptly discover, stop, and correct minors' improper online conduct; and shall protect minors' lawful rights and interests online.

Article 15: Primary and secondary schools shall include safe and reasonable use of the internet in their curricula, and educate minor students on network security and network civility.

The State encourages primary and secondary schools to use methods such as carrying out extra-curricular classes to guide minor students' guardians and assist minor students in cultivating positive online habits, and raising network literacy.

Article 16: Those collecting and using minors' personal information online shall abide by principles of legality, propriety and necessity, explicitly stating the purposes, means and scope for collecting or using information, and obtain the consent of the minors and their guardians.

Those collecting and using minors' personal information online shall draft special rules for that collection and use, strengthening online protections of minors' personal information.

Article 17: Network information service providers providing information search services must not violate article 16 of these Measures by displaying search results of minors' personal information.

Article 18: Where minors or their guardians request that network information service providers delete or block online minors personal information related to them, the network information service proders shall employ the necessary measures for deletion or blocking.

Chapter IV: Prevention and Intervention

Article 19: Households and schools shall educate and guide minors' proper use of the networks, preventing and intervening in minors' internet addiction. For minor students inclined toward internet addiction, schools shall guide their guardians in carrying out home education, and cooperate with the household, community, and other establishments in conducting education and guidance.

Article 20: On the basis of their respective duties, departments such as for education and health, are to organize and carry out publicity and education on preventing minors' internet addiction, and carryout interventions on minors' internet addiction.

Organizations or individuals must not use abuse, coercion, or other unlawful means when engaging in activities to prevent or interfere with minors' internet addiction, must not harm minors' physical and psychological health, and must not infringe on minors' lawful rights and interests.

Article 21: Minors must not be threatened, berated, attacked, or injured online by any organization or individual.

Minors' guardians and schools, as well as other organizations and individuals, discovering that minors have encountered the online bullying or infringement of the preceding paragraph shall promptly take measures to give assistance, and when necessary report to the public security organs or other relevant departments, and the unit receiving the report should promptly accept it.

Article 22: Network information service providers providing online gaming services (hereinafter "Online Gaming Service Providers") shall request that online game users provide their real identity information to register, effectively distinguishing minors, and properly store users' registration information.

The State encourages online gaming service providers to follow relevant national provisions and standards to develop age verification and recognition system software for online gaming products.

Article 23: Online gaming service providers shall establish and improve game rules for the prevention of minors' addiction to online games, and conduct technical modifications of game rules that might induce minors' addiction to online games.

Online gaming service providers shall follow relevant national provisions and standards to employ technical measures and prohibit minors from having contact with games or game functions that are not suitable for minors, and shall limit the length of time which minor's can continuously use games and the cumulative time minors can use games per day, prohibiting minors' use of game services from midnight to 8:00 AM.

Article 24: Network information service providers shall establish convenient channels for reporting, give information on the reporting channels and methods in conspicuous way, and allocate full-time personnel suited to the scale of the service, to promptly accept and deal with reports from the public concerning unlawful or harmful content present in that unit’s online information services or conduct that violates this Regulation.

Where any organization or individual discovers Internet information service providers have committed acts violating provisions of this Regulation, they may report the matter to departments of internet information, culture, PPRT, and so forth. Departments such as for network information, culture and PPRT, shall establish convenient channels for making reports, and accept and handle reported cases in accordance with law.

Article 25: State network information departments, together with relevant State Council departments, are to establish online protection of minors archives and blacklists systems.

Chapter V: Legal Responsibility

Article 26: Where minors' guardians do not perform the guardianship duties listed in these Regulations, their workplace, residents' committee, or villagers' committee is to admonish them or stop them.

Article 27: Where these Regulations are violated by the production, publication, or transmission of unlawful information, the network information department and other such departments are to give warnings, order deletion, and stop updating information, on the basis of their respective duties; where the circumstances are serious, a concurrent fine of between 50,000 RMB and 500,000 RMB may be given; where a public security violation is constituted, the public security organs are to give public security administrative punishments in accordance with law; and where a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility is pursued in accordance with law.

Where network information service providers violate these Regulations by failing to perform obligations to review or failing to delete or block unlawful information, departments such as for network information are to order corrections on the basis of their respective duties; where corrections are refused, a warning is to be given, and a concurrent fine of between 50,000 RMB and 500,000 RMB may be given; and where circumstances are especially serious, then upon verification by the provincial level network information department or other department, the provincial level department for industry and information is to order the website closed or stop access to services.

Article 28: Where these Regulations are violated by the production, publication, or transmission of information not suitable for minors, or by failure to show a warning in conspicuous fashion prior to display, the network information department and other such departments are to give warnings, order corrections by a certain date, and stop updating information, on the basis of their respective duties; where the circumstances are serious, a concurrent fine of between 30,000 RMB and 300,000 RMB may be given.

Where network information service providers violate these Regulations by failing to adopt measures to put a conspicuous warning prior to displaying information not suitable for minors, departments such as for network information are to order corrections on the basis of their respective duties; where corrections are refused, a warning is to be given, and a concurrent fine of between 30,000 RMB and 300,000 RMB may be given.

Article 29: Where public interest internet venues violate these Regulations by failing to install software for the protection of minors online, the departments of culture, education, and so forth are to give warnings on the basis of their respective duties, and may give a concurrent fine of up to 100,000 RMB; and where the circumstances are serious, order that operations be stopped.

Article 30: Where manufacturers or importers of smart terminal equipment violate these Regulations by failing to install software for the protection of minors online or failure to facilitate and conspicuously provide information on pre-installation of software for the protection of minors prior to shipment or sale, the State Council departments for Industry and Information, Industry and Commerce, and other such departments are to give warnings, order corrections be made in a certain period of time, and give a concurrent fine of between 100,000 and 500,000 RMB, on the basis of their respective duties.

Article 31: Where these Regualtions are violated by the use of networks to collect or use minors' personal information, failing to put warning notifications in a conspicuous location and failing to obtain the consent of the minors and their guardians, or refusing to delete or block minors personal information, departments such as for network information and industry and information are to give warnings, order corrections be made in a certain period of time, and give a concurrent fine of up to 50,000 RMB, on the basis of their respective duties; and where the circumstances are serious or corrections are refused, a fine of between 50,000 and 500,000 is to be given, and an order may be made to suspend or terminate the relevant services.

Article 32: Where these regulations are violated by the use of abuse, coercion or other unlawful means to engage in activities for the prevention or interference in minors' internet addiction, or bullying minors online, so as to constitute a violation of public security administration, the public security organs are to handle it in accordance with law; and where a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility is pursued in accordance with law.

Article 33: Where online gaming service providers violate these Regulations by failing to conduct identity registration or failing to employ measures to prevent addiction, the departments of culture are to give warnings and order corrections be made in certain time period, on the basis of their duties; where corrections are refused, a concurrent fine of between 50,000 and 500,000 RMB is to be given, and an order may be made to suspend or stop online gaming services; and where circumstances are serious, online cultural operations permits are to be revoked.

Article 34: Where network information service providers violate these Regulations by failing to establish a reporting system or not promptly accepting and handling reports, departments such as those for network information, culture, PPRT, and so forth are to give warnings, order corrections be made within a certain time period, and give a concurrent fine of up to 50,000 RMB on the basis of their respective duties; where corrections are refused, a concurrent fine of between 50,000 and 500,000 RMB is to be given, and an order may be made to suspend or stop relevant services.

Chapter VI: Supplementary Provisions

Article 35: (1) "Networks" [also "online"] , as used in this Regulation, refers to systems comprised of computers or other information terminals and related equipment that follow certain rules and procedures for information gathering, storage, transmission, exchange and processing.

"Network information service providers" as used in this Regulation refers to organizations and individuals using networks to provide users with information technology, information services, information products, including online platform service providers, and providers of online content and products.

"Minors' Personal information" as used in this Regulation, refers to all kinds of information, recorded electronically or through other means, that taken alone or together with other information, is sufficient to identify a minor's identity, including, but not limited to, minors' full names, location, addresses, birth dates, contact information, account names, identification numbers, personal biometric information, images, and so forth;

"Smart terminal equipment" as used in this Regulation refers to network terminal products that may connect to the networks, have operating systems, and on which users may install application software.

Article 36: These regulations take effect on ______.