China launches online crackdown on ‘harmful’ content aimed at children

China announced a new crackdown on its tightly controlled internet on Saturday, targeting video apps and social media platforms to remove content deemed harmful to children.

The ruling Communist Party tightly regulates the country’s internet, censoring content deemed vulgar, ostentatious or politically subversive.

There have been periodic crackdowns on specific sectors, from online influencers to gaming and shopping platforms.

In a statement on Saturday, the country’s internet watchdog said it was launching a two-month “Clear and Bright” campaign aimed at “effectively strengthening the protection of minors online and creating a healthier, safer online environment.”

The move will “address visible issues” related to short video and live streaming platforms, social media sites, online shopping platforms, app stores, children’s smart devices and internet access controls for minors, the Cyberspace Administration of China said in a statement.

The attack targets a variety of behaviors, such as distributing videos that appear to glorify school bullying, adding “violent and gory” content to classic children’s cartoons and songs, and profiting from the underage “children of internet celebrities.”

The aim is also to eliminate “slightly pornographic” and sexually explicit products from e-commerce platforms, as well as information that draws children into “harmful friendships” or “conveys harmful values… (through) maliciously invented internet jargon and vulgar keywords”.

“We must pay special attention to new manifestations of problems specific to minors… and together take care of a good ecology on the Internet,” the statement reads.

The latest crackdown comes at the start of the summer school holidays for Chinese children and follows a number of similar campaigns in recent years.

Censors have banned a number of high-profile influencers after another “Clear and Bright” campaign was launched in April, targeting “ostentatious individuals… (who) intentionally display extravagant lifestyles filled with money.”

The government has also significantly restricted the time children under 18 can play online games, and has previously focused its attention on e-commerce platforms selling products it deems undesirable, such as software that bypasses official internet controls.

mjw/fox