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TikTok
TechPolicy

Chinese version of TikTok limits kids under 14 to 40 minutes per day, adding to fight against internet addiction

  • In addition to new time limits, young Douyin users will only be able to use the app between 6am and 10pm
  • The short video app restrictions follow time limits imposed on video games as Beijing boosts efforts to curb ‘internet addiction’

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A user of Douyin holds up the splash screen of the app. The Chinese version of TikTok is limiting users under the age of 14 to just 40 minutes per day following recent time limits imposed on video games for children. Photo: Weibo
Coco Feng
ByteDance’s short video app Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, is limiting users under the age of 14 years old to just 40 minutes of use per day, tightening technology restrictions on China’s youth as Beijing seeks to further crack down on “internet addiction” following recent video game time limits.

In addition to limiting the amount of time children can spend flipping through short videos, the same age group will only be allowed to use Douyin between 6am to 10pm. Similar to TikTok’s rise overseas, Douyin has become one of China’s most popular apps, with more than 600 million daily active users in the country.

To make the new policy work, ByteDance is requiring users to authenticate their identities. The company suggested that parents could “help their children complete the process in order to enter youth mode”, according to a post on the app’s official WeChat account on Saturday.

As another option for parents, ByteDance has launched a new TikTok-like app for children called Xiao Qu Xing, which literally translates as “little fun star”. Similar to Douyin’s youth mode, Xiao Qu Xing features educational content that limits users to up to 40 minutes per day, with the default for weekdays set at 30 minutes. Parents have the option to reduce that time further in the settings, down to just 15 minutes each day.

Beijing-based ByteDance, founded by Chinese entrepreneur Zhang Yiming nine years ago, operates both Douyin and TikTok as near-identical apps, but they are completely separate platforms to keep Douyin compliant with China’s strict internet content regulations.

Both short video platforms grew popular among young users for making it easy to produce slick lip-synching music videos. They have since expanded into many forms of content, but Douyin’s youth mode is designed to provide more educational fare. These include videos of scientific experiments, historical stories, and virtual museum and gallery tours.

The focus on the time and hours people can use the app mirrors restrictions recently imposed on the video game industry.

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