AI Photo: VCG

 
China’s top cyberspace regulator has initiated a two-month-long campaign in a bid to strengthen protection of minors over the summer vacation period, local media reported on Tuesday, highlighting the  risk of new technologies and new applications such as "AI face-changing", "AI drawing" and "AI one-click undressing" used to generate vulgar pornographic pictures and videos involving minors.

The Cyber Administration of China said in a notice circulated among regulators of all levels across the country that the special campaign aims to create a better cyberspace environment for minors where they can grow up safely, adding that the campaign will crackdown on illegal activities that infringe on the rights and interests of minors, disrupting platforms and individuals who share harmful content online.

The administration highlighted the use of modified key words to transmit sexual vulgarity, gambling and superstitious content as as part of seven key targets of law enforcement officers. 

Other issues such as bullying and online trolling, obscenity, fraud and online scams  were also included as  key targets.

Artificial intelligence (AI) applications for deepfakes and generating graphic artwork were also mentioned in the notice, with these  applications empowered by new technology could potentially lead to the creation of  pornographic content involving minors.

Cyberspace regulators across the country should resolutely and solidly implement requirements put forward by central authorities during the campaign period. 

Violations of laws and regulations involving minors will be met with severe punishments  including blacklisting illegal accounts, and closing down websites and platforms which are red flagged in accordance with the law. 

It is necessary to report and expose representative cases in a timely manner as a strong deterrent, read the notice published by the Secretariat of the Cyber Administration of China on June 21. 

The summer vacation for elementary and middle schools in China will start on July 3 and run to  August 27, and from July 10 to August 27 for senior high schools. The new semester will start in September. 

The number of underage netizens in China reached 191 million in 2021, with the internet penetration rate among young people reaching 96.8 percent, according to a newly released report on national underage internet use released at  the end of 2022.