TikTok Maker Caps Screen Time for Youths in China
ByteDance’s ‘youth mode’ for users under age 14 is the latest online restriction as Beijing steps up scrutiny of tech use by young people
HONG KONG—In the latest move to curb screen time for younger Chinese users, Bytedance Ltd., the maker of the hit short-video mobile app TikTok, said that it would restrict access to Douyin, the Chinese version of the app, to 40 minutes a day for users under 14 years old.
Douyin’s “youth mode,” which follows the imposition of new limits on younger Chinese users’ access to online videogames, will restrict under-14s to using the app between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. The app will be inaccessible to all users in that age group outside of those hours.
Douyin had introduced some of the features beginning in 2018, but on an optional basis. The measures would apply to all users registered with their real names and as being under 14 years old, Douyin said Saturday.
It said that the mandatory measures were designed to protect younger users from harmful content. In that vein, the up-to 40 minutes a day of Douyin for younger users will henceforth serve up edifying content such as science experiments, museum exhibitions and history lessons, the company said.
To aid enforcement, Douyin called on parents to register their children with their real names and ages.
The new restrictions come as the Chinese government seeks to rein in the country’s biggest internet companies, accusing them of violating antitrust, data-security and labor rules.