China’s Online Services Ban Will Affect Your Kids
China is once again dabbling in the digital world, and this time it's going to affect all of us. However, big red's new online services ban might actually be good for your kids.
Not too long ago, the big tech fight was whether or not the United States government would ban TikTok over concerns that the Chinese-based app would facilitate digital surveillance and espionage for Beijing. According to CNN, an 11th hour deal was struck with Walmart and Oracle to keep those dance videos rolling non-stop on your phone.
The latest in the Chinese digital sphere is that officials there are putting strict measures in place to protect kids from addictive digital content. This kind of content is defined by Engadget as: "internet products and services which 'induce addiction' in kids." The government there is also requiring game creators, livestream services, and social networks to set up consumption and time limits for underage users. The ban also arms parents with the ability to take action like blocking or deleting content in order to combat threats like cyberbullying, and online predators.
The way that this will affect you and your kids is simple - an inordinate amount of the apps made for little users comes out of (you guessed it) China! The ability for American parents to request action on the part of the developers is unclear, but you can be sure that most of these companies won't take the time, effort, or money to develop a separate version for users outside of their borders.
Seeing as how my 2-year old can download 100 new apps before I can yell "Give Daddy his phone back!" - I (and my very tired phone) can't wait to see this in action.