Beijing, September 28: China wants apps, games, AI services and even smartphones to automatically switch anyone under 16 into a restricted “minor mode”, and it is prepared to let platforms use face checks to work out who those users are. The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) published draft State Council provisions on “ensuring minors’ healthy and safe use of the internet” on September 18. Public comments are open until October 17.
Key highlights
- Mandatory minor mode: Users identified as under 16 must be switched into minor mode automatically on games, livestreaming, short-video, social media and AI services. Previously, minor mode was largely optional.
- How age is checked: Platforms may rely on legal ID documents, the national online identity authentication service, distributed digital identity, facial recognition that does not store the image, and analysis of user behaviour.
- Banned for minors: Stranger social networking (with limited exceptions), “virtual intimate relationship” services such as virtual companions, addictive services, and livestream hosting for under-16s.
- Phones and app stores: Devices must come with minor mode built in, including one-click switching and protection against bypassing it.
- Penalties: Fines of 100,000 to 1 million yuan, rising to as much as ten times illegal gains, plus possible suspension, shutdown or licence revocation.
What the draft says
The 25-article draft covers platforms, apps, smart devices and app stores. Its core change is that platforms can no longer wait for parents or children to opt in. According to reports in Yangcheng Evening News and Sina, once a platform identifies a user as under 16 it must switch that user to minor mode itself. The mode must filter harmful content, prevent addiction, protect personal information and give guardians monitoring tools.
Article 6 sets out how platforms should identify minors: legal identity documents, the national network identity authentication service, distributed digital identity, “non-storage” facial recognition and behavioural-feature recognition, while protecting personal data. Xinhua’s English summary of the draft did not mention facial recognition, but it appears in the CAC’s published text.
The draft also targets the design of services. Providers may not use algorithms intended to induce addiction, emotional dependency or excessive spending among minors. It bars minors from “virtual intimate relationship” services, a category that covers AI companions, and prohibits under-16s from being livestream hosts.
Device makers would have to preinstall minor mode with one-click switching, verification before it can be turned off, and anti-circumvention features. App stores would have to check apps for age-appropriateness. The draft also sets out duties for parents and schools: parents are expected to guide and supervise children’s internet use and enable minor mode, and schools to train teachers to spot internet addiction early.
Why it matters
The scale is large. China had more than 200 million internet users aged 6 to 19 as of December 2025, according to figures cited in Xinhua’s report. China has had minor modes and gaming time limits for years, but compliance has often depended on families switching them on. Chinese commentators have described the new draft as putting a “hard constraint” on platforms instead.
The face-verification element is the most debated part. Discussion of age identification by face checks trended on Chinese social media platforms last week, according to China Trading Desk’s weekly roundup. The draft’s use of “non-storage” facial recognition is meant to limit how much biometric data platforms keep. How that is enforced, and how accurate behavioural age detection turns out to be, will be closely watched by privacy experts and by the tech companies that must build these systems.
The rules would also apply to AI chatbots and companion apps, a fast-growing category in China as elsewhere (see our coverage of China’s AI push).
How other countries compare
China is not alone in tightening age checks. Australia’s ban on under-16s holding social media accounts took effect in December 2025, and the UK began enforcing age checks for harmful content under its Online Safety Act in July 2025. In India, the Digital Personal Data Protection framework requires verifiable parental consent before platforms process children’s personal data. China’s draft goes further in one respect: it pushes obligations down to devices and app stores as well as platforms.
What happens next
The CAC is accepting comments until October 17, by email or by post. After that the provisions could be revised before being finalised by the State Council. No implementation date has been announced. For the platforms involved, including gaming, short-video, social and AI companies, the practical question is how quickly they must build reliable age-identification systems and make minor mode the default for under-16s.
Sources
- Cyberspace Administration of China: Notice seeking public comment on the draft State Council provisions (in Chinese)
- Yangcheng Evening News: Platforms must switch identified under-16 users to minor mode (in Chinese)
- Sina: New rules on minors’ online protection open for comment, 25 articles (in Chinese)
- Xinhua (via Daily Ittehad): China drafts guidelines to strengthen online protection for minors
- China Trading Desk: China’s social media highlights, 21-25 September 2026
The Tech Desk covers technology, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. Stories are checked against at least two credible sources before publication.
