China Legislators look to boost Minors Protection Law

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Governments, parents, schools, service providers urged to act to keep kids safe

China is planning a major overhaul of its child protection laws including new safeguards against abuse and bullying.

Lawmakers on Monday sought to codify the protection of youngsters against cyber-based crimes and addictions as they work to revise the Minors Protection Law, a protective law for citizens under age 18.

The draft of the revised law was made public at the bimonthly session of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, which opened on Monday. It has been submitted to the top legislature for the first review.

In a new chapter named "Internet Protection", legislators began by giving a nod to minors' proper internet use, which in some cases has been denied by parents for fear that cyber engagement constitutes a distraction from academic activities.

The 11-clause chapter lays out duties for governments, schools, parents and digital service providers as to their responsibilities in navigating youngsters through cyberspace.

It demanded schools and parents offer proper education aimed at raising children's internet literacy and awareness for self-protection.

Libraries and other public service providers should install software to curb misuse of digital services, it said.

Developers were encouraged to roll out services tailored to children's needs and service providers were ordered to offer designs that will allow parents to monitor children's time and money spent on online platforms.

The chapter forbids threats, insults and attacks of minors in written, visual or audio forms and empowered parents and other guardians to demand service providers to remove such content.

It also required such platforms to create a channel for users to report breaches and set up a team to handle such reports.

With the rapid development of the internet and information technology, cyberspace has become a new environment for children's growth, which made it necessary to revise the law and add the new chapter, said He Yiting, an official from the NPC's Social Development Affairs Committee, while explaining the draft to lawmakers.

Experts hailed the revision as a major move in the country's internet governance that has extended protection of minors from the physical world to the online sphere.

Yuan Ningning, a children's law researcher at China University of Political Science and Law who was involved in the drafting process, said by laying out such rules in a separate chapter, the draft revision has put the protection of juveniles against online pornography, violence and bullying in a more prominent spotlight, which could have long-lasting social benefits.

"Juvenile offenses are highly correlated with improper internet use, with some data showing over 70 percent of underage offenders had access to improper information via the internet," he said, adding the draft has sent a strong signal that offenses in the digital space are punishable by law.

China has seen a rapid increase in the number of underage users over the last few years, as well as an epidemic of excessive smartphone use and online game addiction among juveniles, with rural children more vulnerable.

Figures from the China Internet Network Information Center show more than 79 million rural teenagers had access to the internet by the end of 2015.

Many of them are so-called left behind children who lack effective guardianship as their parents are away working in better-paying jobs in big cities.

China moves to strengthen child protection laws with measures to help those at risk of abuse and cyberbullying

The proposals include measures to tackle bullying both in schools and online. Photo: Shutterstock

Draft proposals would give state power to remove vulnerable children from parents or other guardians if they are deemed to be failing in their duties
Legislation will include first measures to tackle online bullying and strengthen protections for those at risk of sexual or physical abuse

China is planning a major overhaul of its child protection laws including new safeguards against abuse and bullying.

It will also increase the authorities’ powers to step in when parents or other legal guardians are failing in their duty of care.

The proposed new amendments to the Minors Protection Law underwent their first review at a bimonthly session of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, the country’s top legislative body, on Monday.

The proposals would add dozens of new articles to the law, first passed in 1991 and then amended in 2006, to address major issues such as sexual abuse and bullying as well as empowering the state to revoke guardianships from those failing to protect children’s welfare.

Under the amendment, county-level civil authorities or above will be able to act as temporary guardians for up to a year in cases where children are at risk of sexual abuse, serious violence, trafficking or being used to commit crimes, official news agency Xinhua reported.

Other scenarios where temporary state custody will be granted include cases when minors suffer serious harm or neglect from their parents or guardians or when they cannot be located by the authorities.

Meanwhile, the draft also includes the first legal protections designed to prevent bullying – either physical or online.

Schools will be required to establish anti-bullying measures and train staff members to tackle the problem.

They will also be required to cooperate with the authorities to correct or punish bullies and work with the police in the most serious cases.

To tackle online bullying there will be a ban on posting words, images or videos that threaten, insult or attack children and maliciously distort or damage their images.

Underage victims of cyberbullying or their parents or guardians will also be able to ask internet service providers to delete the offending posts.

The China Youth Internet Use and Cyber Security Survey Report, published by the China Academy of Social Sciences in May last year, showed young people were the most vulnerable to online bullying with just over 71 per cent of the surveyed youngsters reporting they had been ridiculed or insulted online.

Another report by the academy published this year said that 28.9 per cent of teenagers reported violent or abusive comments online, with more than 45 per cent reporting threatening text messages or online postings.

Sun Xuemei, co-founder of welfare group Girls’ Protection, welcomed the proposals and describing them as a “giant step forward”.

“Although the draft is not the final version, we have seen where the amendment is going,” she said. “While, there might still be difficulty in implementing the amended law, it is still a legal guidance and provides the legal foundation for protection of children’s rights.”

She said documents on revoking guardianship had been issued by the Supreme People’s Court in 2015, but it was a significant step to propose changes to the law.

“Many have been trying to push for the amendment and some articles, including putting sexual abuse in the draft. This is a giant step forward,” said Sun.

It is not clear what the time table for enshrining the proposals into law would be, but the standing committee has the power to implement the amendments without the need for a full sitting of the legislature.

Yuan Ningning, a children's law researcher with China University of Political Science and Law, told the Southern Daily newspaper that the amendment would help to establish a system based on the family and supported by the state.

“It provides a clear and specific instruction on whether the parents or other guardians have completely fulfilled their duty by listing their responsibilities and forbidden behaviour,” Yuan was quoted as saying.

Source: Chinadaily; SCMP, BY Zhuang Pinghui . This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: new curbs on bullying and abuse of children

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