CHINA TO LIMIT TEENAGERS' SMARTPHONE USE TO A MAXIMUM OF TWO HOURS A DAY IN BID TO PREVENT ADDICTION TO MOBILES

China to limit teenagers' smartphone use to a maximum of two hours a day in bid to prevent addiction to mobiles

China's internet regulator have announced plans to crack down on how much time teenagers are allowed to spend on their phones, limiting screen time to a maximum of just two hours a day.

The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said it wanted to mandate so-called 'minor mode programmes' for smart devices that would ban users under-18 from accessing the internet between 10pm to 6am.

The CAC also said that the programmes would give users aged 16 to 18 two hours of screen time a day, while users under 16 would get just one hour per day.

Users under eight would get just eight minutes to use devices.  

While the regulator said that the proposed reforms would give parents the option to opt out of the limits, this did little to soothe furious tech investors. 

Xia Hailong, a lawyer at the Shanghai Shenlun law firm, said the rules would be a headache for the internet companies.

'A lot of effort and additional costs to properly implement these new regulatory requirements,' he said.

The lawyer warned that Chinese internet companies may simply ban users under 18 from using their services altogether.

'The risk of non-compliance will also be very high. I believe that many internet companies may consider directly prohibiting minors from using their services,' he said.