China mulls measures to identify harmful online content for minors

BEIJING -- The Cyberspace Administration of China on Friday released a set of draft measures for identifying online information that may affect the physical and mental health of minors.

According to the draft, now open for soliciting public feedback, such information includes content that may trigger or induce minors to "imitate unsafe behaviors, commit acts violating social ethics, develop extreme emotions, or form harmful habits."

Specifically, this may refer to content containing sexual innuendo or teasing that easily triggers sexual associations, content involving online abuse, and content that incites discrimination against specific groups or regions, among over 30 other types of information listed in the draft.

The draft also states that providers of internet products and services must not display such potentially harmful content in prominent areas likely to draw user attention, such as homepages, pop-ups and trending search lists.