China launches online crackdown on ‘harmful’ content targeting children

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

The ruling Communist Party has strictly regulated the domestic web, censoring content deemed obscene and politically subversive.
It has from time to time clamped down on specific areas ranging from online influencers to gaming and shopping platforms.
In a statement on Saturday, the country’s internet watchdog said it is launching a two-month “Clear and Bright” campaign to effectively strengthen the protection of minors on the internet and create a healthy, safe online environment.
The move “resolves major issues related to online control of short-video and live-streaming platforms, social media sites, online shopping platforms, app stores, smart devices for children and minors,” according to a statement issued by the Cyberspace Administration of China.
It targets behavior as diverse as broadcasting videos that promote school bullying, adding “violent and hateful content” to classic children’s cartoons and songs, and profiting from underage “Internet celebrity kids.”
It also aims to eliminate obscene and sexually suggestive products from e-commerce platforms that attract children to malicious online jargon and pornography through harmful friendships.
The statement said that a better online ecology should be jointly supported by paying close attention to new manifestations of particular problems for minors.
The latest campaign comes as Chinese children begin their summer school holidays and follows a number of similar campaigns in recent years.
Censors have blocked several well-known influencers since launching another “Clear and Bright” campaign in April that showcases glamorous personalities deliberately lavishing extravagant lifestyles.
The government has also severely curtailed the amount of time children under 18 play online games. It has previously trained e-commerce platforms to sell products it deems undesirable, such as software that circumvents official Internet controls.
Agency