‘No violence, electric shocks or drugs’: new rules for China’s internet boot camps for children

Controversial institutions claiming to help wean teenagers off their internet addiction through beatings, electric shocks or drugs will be banned under a new law drafted by the State Council.

The draft regulation on cyberprotection for minors was released for 30 days of public consultation on Friday.

By June of last year, about 23 per cent of the 710 million internet users on the mainland were aged under 19, according to Legal ­Daily. And more than 90 per cent of adolescents used the internet, the report said.

The previous draft of the legislation released in September was criticised for permitting schools and education authorities to contract services from institutions set up to help minors overcome their internet addiction.

These institutions have prospered in recent years amid high demand from parents seeking treatment for their children. But there have been many mainland media reports of the centres using violence, electric shocks or drugs to force teens to change their behaviour. Oversight of these institutions is also a grey area.