The Regulations on the Protection of Minors on the Internet (hereinafter referred to as the "Regulations") officially came into effect on January 1 this year. As the first specialized comprehensive legislation on the protection of minors on the Internet in China, corresponding systems are established from the aspects of promoting network literacy, regulating network information content, protecting personal information on the Internet, and preventing and controlling network addiction, clarifying the obligations of network product and service providers and other entities to protect minors on the Internet, Standardized relevant management requirements.
With the official implementation of the Regulations, various sectors of society will receive a legal response to the practical concerns of underage cybersecurity and network addiction prevention. Social responsibility entities such as the government, enterprises, and families will also clarify their respective responsibilities and obligations.
On January 3rd, NetEase Games responded to 21st Century Business Herald and stated that it will actively implement the requirements of the Regulations. All products will be equipped with a "minor mode" on the basis of the anti addiction system, providing users with one click content blocking, "NetEase Parent Care Platform" management, anti cyberbullying and other protective function options. Currently, the first batch of 34 pilot products have completed the deployment of the "minor mode".
Taking NetEase's product "Egg Party" as an example, the game has previously been the first to introduce a minors mode in the game. By combining the educational needs of minors, it selects content pools that are more suitable for minors to play in the park. Since the trial operation of this mode, the number of accounts used has reached 1.21 million, and the number of uses has reached 5.37 million.
It is reported that when the minor mode is enabled in the product, it provides several functional options such as one click content blocking, "NetEase Parent Care Platform" management, and anti cyberbullying.
Among them, the "NetEase Parent Care Platform" is the first to be integrated into game products, facilitating parents to quickly bind minors' accounts, remotely manage children's game duration and consumption, and can set one click ban on playing and one click ban on charging. Previously, 8 million parents had used the NetEase Parental Care Platform feature
In addition, how to prevent underage users from being subjected to online bullying has also become a major concern for gaming companies. According to Article 26 of Chapter 3 of the Regulations, network product and service providers shall establish and improve mechanisms for early warning, prevention, identification, monitoring, and disposal of cyberbullying. The "anti cyberbullying" function in NetEase game's underage mode can be set to block information from unfamiliar users, block comments, and block public screen chats. At the same time, a special entrance for reporting minors will also be added to the product, opening up a green channel for complaint handling, which will effectively block harmful information from the source.
In fact, since the implementation of the "Most Strict Anti Addiction New Regulations in History" on August 30, 2021, domestic game manufacturers have actively implemented and promoted numerous measures in areas such as preventing minors from becoming addicted and ensuring their network security. With the active promotion of numerous enterprises, the protection of minors in the gaming industry has achieved positive results in recent years.
The "2023 China Game Industry Minors Protection Progress Report" released at the recently held 2023 China Game Industry Annual Conference shows that in 2023, the number of internet users aged 19 and below exceeded 200 million; The gaming preferences of minors rank sixth; 28.86% of underage gaming consumption decreased, while 54.07% of underage consumption remained unchanged; 32.86% of minors register with someone else's ID card; Upon encountering an identity verification pop-up, half of the minors will stop playing the game; Refund requests from parents of over 70% of minors have been processed; 56.26% of parents and children agree on game conditions or use games as a means of motivation.
NetEase Gaming stated that under the new regulations, a multi-party collaborative system for protecting minors is gradually taking shape. In the future, under the active fulfillment of legal obligations by all parties, we will create a clearer online space for minors, allowing them to connect with the internet in the sunshine and grow up under care.