A report on enhancing online protection for minors and improving the online ecosystem was presented to the 25th session of the Standing Committee of the 16th Beijing Municipal People's Congress on July 30th. The report indicates that Beijing is transitioning its minor protection model from individual apps to smart devices, enabling a "one-click activation" feature on supported smartphone models.
A multi-departmental coordination mechanism for minor online protection has been established, targeting common scenarios like gaming, short videos, social media, and educational apps. This initiative strengthens content governance, platform supervision, and personal information protection, while integrating digital literacy education, mental health services, and family guidance. The Municipal People's Congress Social Development Committee recommends that platform responsibilities be further solidified, the practical effectiveness of the minor protection model be enhanced, and the supply of quality content and cross-departmental collaborative governance be improved.
Since last year, over 5.78 million pieces of information violating regulations related to minors have been handled. As new technologies like generative AI integrate into daily life, protecting minors online presents a new challenge. Beijing has incorporated new business forms, including education and AI applications, into pre-market supervision. Currently, over 400 educational apps have completed verification and filing, and 259 generative AI models have been registered for supervision, the highest number in the country. Highly frequented sectors like online games and live streaming are also under strict oversight. For instance, more than 30 publishing companies have obtained or renewed licenses for online games, and 179 live-streaming operators have passed entry audits.
Beijing has also conducted special rectification campaigns for seven consecutive years, addressing issues like live-stream induced tipping, AI misuse, problematic micro-dramas, and improper marketing of "children's" products. Over 70 such campaigns have been carried out. Key local platforms have handled over 5.78 million pieces of illegal information, more than 180,000 illegal accounts, and removed 1,288 illegal products. This year, the Cyberspace Administration initiated a six-month joint campaign with ten other departments, focusing on issues like harmful behavior inducement, value misguidance, and improper use of minors' images, shifting from post-discovery handling to risk prevention and systemic governance.
Platform accountability is now part of routine supervision. Relevant departments have continuously strengthened administrative guidance for key local platforms, urging them to build dedicated content review teams for minors and improve mechanisms for content review, account management, risk assessment, and emergency response. Some platforms have introduced features like "one-click anti-cyberbullying" to help minors get faster responses.
A key concern for parents is the effectiveness of the minor protection model in reducing addiction. To address this, Beijing is promoting age-based, time-based, and scenario-based protection. Online games are fully integrated with the national anti-addiction real-name authentication system. Major platforms for social media, short videos, novels, and audio-visual content have launched minor protection models, implementing time limits, nighttime bans, and restrictions on tipping. The protection model is no longer confined to individual apps. Beijing is pushing smartphone manufacturers to expand support for "one-click activation" of the minor protection model on their devices, extending protection from single applications to the intelligent terminal level.
Simultaneously, the education department is enforcing regulations that restrict phone use in schools, promoting a "limited entry, banned in classrooms" policy to reduce over-reliance on electronic devices. To guide minors away from screens, Beijing launched a "screen-off" campaign, opening 43 university museums for free to primary and secondary school students. Schools are also increasing offline recreational, educational, and social participation opportunities through clubs, practical education, and campus network culture building.
Personal information protection is another critical aspect of online safety. Beijing is focusing on sectors like education, healthcare, and tourism to continuously address issues like excessive collection of minors' personal information and forced authorization by apps and mini-programs. Online training institutions have been subject to supervision for three consecutive years, checking data security and personal information protection. Relevant entities have been guided to conduct compliance audits, with 184 audit reports reviewed and issues identified for rectification.
For vulnerable groups like children in difficult circumstances and migrant children, online protection is integrated into routine care services. Street-level and community child welfare officers conduct regular visits to identify risks like cyberbullying, personal information leaks, and addiction. Projects like "Rider Children's" service stations and "Loving Mother" pairings are being implemented in districts like Chaoyang and Changping.
Nearly 3,000 legal vice principals now cover all primary and secondary schools in Beijing, and 120 school-family-community co-education consultation rooms have been established. Digital literacy is being incorporated into the school curriculum, with courses on internet legal literacy integrated into subjects like political education, information technology, and physics. Activities like Cybersecurity Awareness Week, Digital Literacy and Skills Enhancement Month, and AI innovation competitions serve as practical classrooms. Beijing No. 8 High School has established the city's first AI safety training base for youth, and Guangqumen Middle School has set up a digital legal literacy education base school. Haidian District has built a cybersecurity education center that shares resources citywide.
Legal education is widespread, with all 1,493 primary and secondary schools in the city having appointed legal vice principals, totaling nearly 3,000. The Beijing Internet Court has been designated a "Beijing School 'Grand Ideological and Political Course' Practice Teaching Base." Immersive legal education activities on topics like cyberbullying prevention and AI information verification have been held over 3,000 times.
Families are the first line of defense in managing minors' internet use. Beijing has established 120 school-family-community co-education consultation rooms and a "Capital School-Family-Community Cooperative Education Guidance Center" to provide parents with guidance on internet addiction prevention, family education, and risk management. Courts and procuratorates are helping guardians improve their capabilities through online platforms, case studies, and family education courses. Community-level services are also filling the gap, with over 200 "Digital Literacy into Communities" events and 1,170 "Partnership Plan" activities serving over 31,000 young people.
Mental health services for children are now available at three levels—city, district, and grassroots. The "12356" hotline has received 41,000 calls, offering psychological support, including for internet-related issues. A three-tiered child mental health network has been established, with 17 maternal and child health hospitals having dedicated child mental health departments and a referral system to 16 municipal-level diagnostic assessment institutions. During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, approximately 1 million children were screened annually, with a screening rate of over 99%, and early intervention was provided to over 200 cases. The "Child Mental Health Grassroots Tour" has trained over 2,000 grassroots personnel, and 16 "Child Mental Health Expert Studios" have been established in various districts. A municipal-level training base at Beijing Anding Hospital provides targeted professional training for grassroots medical and service staff.
Medical and educational collaboration is also being strengthened. Health and education departments are forming teams to give mental health lectures in schools and provide systematic training for school counselors, enhancing their ability to identify and intervene in students' online use issues. A documentary film, "Accompanying You Until Dawn," has been produced to discuss mental health in a youth-friendly way.
The Municipal People's Congress Social Development Committee notes that while progress has been made, challenges remain. A survey showed that 56.72% of minors and their guardians believe platforms are the most critical area for improvement. The regular usage rate of the minor protection model is still low, with only 26.8% of respondents reporting frequent use. Some smaller platforms, learning apps, and school accounts have weak review standards, and some adult dating platforms have registration loopholes. The committee recommends that platforms be urged to make the minor protection model truly effective, improve identity verification, time management, and content filtering, and enrich the pool of exclusive, high-quality content. Enhanced supervision is needed for social, learning, and smaller platforms to close gaps like account and identity fraud. For parents struggling with management, the committee suggests improving the home-school-community collaboration system, increasing scenario-based teaching and case studies, and providing guidance on internet addiction prevention, consumption control, and mental health. The committee also proposes a "Quality Content Support Plan for Minors" to encourage the creation of age-appropriate content in science, culture, morality, psychology, and law, and to optimize algorithm recommendations to promote such content. Finally, it recommends strengthening data sharing, joint enforcement, and emergency coordination among departments like cyberspace, public security, education, and market regulation, and integrating minor online protection into community governance.