Officials of China's Ministry of Justice and the Cyberspace Administration of China recently discussed how to improve terms contained in the (Draft) Regulations on the Protection of Cyber Security for Minors. The State Council has included the promulgation of the regulations in its legislative agenda this year. 

The regulations contain provisions for controlling online content, for protecting the security of minors' online personal information, and for helping minors avoid becoming addicted to the Internet. The regulations also outline the penalties to be imposed on organizations and/or individuals who violate the regulations.

In China, 191 million minors, or 96.8 percent of the total number of minors in the country, were Internet users by the end of 2021, indicate statistics released by the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) in November 2022. While the Internet has helped minors expand their learning and living space, it has also had some "side effects" on minors' lives. For example, illegal online activities and harmful online information have adversely affected minors' physical and spiritual health. Therefore, laws and regulations had to be formulated to build a safe, pure cyberspace to foster children's healthy growth and development.

(Women of China English Monthly August 2023 issue)