In late June 2023 the Cyberspace Administration of China launched a two-month “Qinglang 2023 summer online environment for minors” campaign. It ran through the holiday, focusing on websites and platforms with large numbers of minor users and significant influence over them, as well as on children’s smart devices.
Bringing “children’s smart devices” into scope is what distinguishes this campaign from earlier ones. The object of regulation is no longer only apps and websites, but also watches, learning machines, story players and early-education hardware that carry content and interaction. For companies making products for children, compliance begins earlier, at product definition rather than content review.
Where the campaign lands
The campaign focuses on seven categories of problem, covering hidden variants of harmful content, online bullying, online sexual solicitation, online fraud, inappropriate content, addiction and risks associated with children’s devices. The wording differs, but the test is the same: whether the content, functions and social relationships accessible to minors have been specifically designed for them.
“Hidden variants” deserves separate mention. Harmful content no longer appears plainly; it may hide in homophones, abbreviations, memes, derivative videos and coded comments. Keyword libraries alone cannot cover this; scenario, account behaviour and user reports must be combined.
Why children’s devices are named
Watches and learning machines share three features: young users, fixed use scenarios, and parents’ expectations about content. Problems often arise exactly there: pre-installed apps that were never reviewed, stories of unknown origin, social functions enabled by default, and location or call data left unprotected.
For hardware companies this means three things. First, pre-installed content and apps need a review inventory; “pre-installed at the factory” is not a defence. Second, defaults should favour protection: social, payment and location functions should be off by default or enabled by a parent. Third, data collection should follow minimum necessity; children’s personal information is sensitive personal information and attracts stricter rules.
Platforms’ summer duties
For content platforms, summer is both a traffic peak and a risk peak. Workable measures include a separate recommendation pool for minors’ mode; stricter limits on live streaming, tipping and private messaging involving minors; a fast track for suspected solicitation or inducement to photograph; and one-click reporting with evidence preservation for bullying.
None of this is new, but during a campaign it is tested more frequently. Platforms should retain handling records: report time, content sample, outcome and review. Records support internal management and answer inspections.
Parental consent is not the whole answer
The Minors Protection Law and the provisions on children’s personal information require guardian consent for processing personal information of children under fourteen. In practice, many products reduce consent to a single pop-up and never distinguish age or scenario again.
A more robust approach ties consent to functions: prompt separately when enabling social features, photo upload, voice interaction or location, and let parents review and switch them off at any time. For children’s content, avoid mechanisms such as streak check-ins and growth points that extend usage.
Four things to do now
First, draw a product map: content entry points, social functions, payment points and data collection. Second, design age-tiered defaults, with protective options as the default. Third, keep a source and review ledger for children’s content, especially pre-installed and third-party content. Fourth, prepare a summer response plan: who handles reports, how quickly, and how records are kept.
Campaigns have start and end dates; duties to protect minors do not. Treating this campaign as a product health check is more effective than waiting for the next one.
For minors’ personal information and product compliance, see our data compliance service and AI product launch documents; for hardware market access, see business licensing.
This article is based on public information about the “Qinglang 2023 summer online environment for minors” campaign launched by the Cyberspace Administration of China in June 2023. It is for reference only and does not constitute legal advice.