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China Minor Platform Identification Measures

Identification Measures for Internet Platform Service Providers with Massive Minor Users or Significant Impact on Minors

Establishes quantified thresholds and assessment criteria for identifying internet platforms with massive minor user bases or significant impact on minors. Specifies identification procedures and delisting rules for platforms that no longer meet criteria. Platforms meeting thresholds face enhanced obligations for minor protection.

Jurisdiction

China

Enacted

Feb 28, 2026

Effective

Apr 1, 2026

Enforcement

Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC)

Enacted February 28, 2026. Effective April 1, 2026.

Cyberspace Administration of China

Why It Matters

Creates a formal threshold-based system for identifying which platforms face enhanced child protection obligations, moving China from general requirements to targeted obligations based on minor user scale.

Recent Developments

Enacted February 28, 2026. Takes effect April 1, 2026.

At a Glance

Applies to

Online PlatformSocial PlatformGaming Platform Minors-focused

Harms addressed

Who Must Comply

  • Internet platform service providers with large numbers of minor users
  • Platforms with significant impact on minors in China

Applicability thresholds:

1M CN users/month (massive_minor_users) — Enhanced minor protection obligations
10M CN users (massive_minor_users_registered) — Enhanced minor protection obligations

Safety Provisions

  • Quantified thresholds for identifying platforms with massive minor user bases
  • Assessment criteria for determining significant impact on minors
  • Formal identification procedures for covered platforms
  • Delisting rules when platforms no longer meet criteria
  • Enhanced minor protection obligations for identified platforms

Compliance & Enforcement

Key Dates

Apr 1, 2026

All provisions take effect

Penalties

Subject to existing CAC enforcement framework

View on map

China

Focus Areas

Child safety
Active safeguards required

Cite This

APA

China. (2026). Identification Measures for Internet Platform Service Providers with Massive Minor Users or Significant Impact on Minors.

Related Regulations

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Proposed CN

CN Minors Internet Use Provisions (draft)

Draft State Council regulation that would bar network service providers from offering minors virtual intimate-relationship services (virtual relatives, virtual partners), stranger social networking and addiction-inducing services, and would require services for under-16s, including AI services that may affect minors' cognition, to be delivered through a filed "minor mode". Adds a duty to intervene and contact a guardian or emergency contact when a minor user is found in a self-harm or suicide situation.

In Effect AU

AU Social Media Age Ban

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In Effect SG

SG Online Safety Code

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In Effect AU

AU OSA Phase 2 Codes

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Proposed AU

AU Digital Duty of Care Bill

Government bill amending the Online Safety Act 2021 to impose a digital duty of care on online service providers, including online games, apps and AI chatbots, requiring them to protect under-18s from design features with negative behavioural impacts and from listed categories of harmful content, and to document and maintain measures against identified risks. Social media platforms would have to offer users a choice of a non-personalised default feed ("My Feed, My Way").

Last updated April 16, 2026. Verify against primary sources before relying on this information.