TikTok's Chinese version limiting kids to 40 minutes a day

Beijing, Sep 21

ByteDance’s short video app Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, has announced that it is limiting kids’ time on the app to 40 minutes per day and banning all overnight use.

Teens under 14 will be able to access Douyin between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., but won’t be able to use the app outside of that window, The Verge reported.

Users confirmed to be under 14 years will be required to enter the youth mode which will be limited to 40 minutes of usage per day and the new controls apply to users who have registered their real names and ages. The company has requested parents to fill out the real information of their children.

In addition, content available to users in youth mode will now include educational material like “interesting popular science experiments, exhibitions in museums and galleries”, the report added.

In June, China revised its “Minor Protection Law,” which requires internet service providers including social media apps to “set up corresponding functions such as time management, content restriction, and consumption limits for minors”.

According to recent rules published recently by China’s National Press and Publication Administration, kids and teens under 18 years old in China will only be allowed up to three hours per week to play online video games.

People under 18 are allowed to play video games one hour a day between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. weekends and legal holidays. The agency billed the rules as a way to safeguard children’s physical and mental health. IANS