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Draft says broadcasters should set up frequencies and channels for children Organizations that broadcast radio and TV programs should set up
radio frequencies, TV channels, program sections or time periods
specially for minors, according to a draft law on radio and television
released recently for public comment. At the same time, specialists should be in place and a committee to
appraise and assess programs for minors should be established to protect
children, and to prevent programs from being too commercialized, adult
or entertainment-oriented, the draft said. "For radio and TV programs with content that may have adverse
influences on the physical and mental health of children, broadcast
organizations should remind the audience in a distinct way and arrange
the broadcast time in a reasonable manner," it added. Public opinion on the draft will be solicited up to April 16, the
National Radio and Television Administration said in a notice posted on
its website on Tuesday. With the rapid development of the radio and TV industries, some
"chaotic" phenomena have occurred, increasing the need for related laws
and regulations, the administration said. The existing administrative regulations on radio and television
mainly focus on the establishment of radio and TV stations and do not
meet the demands of a new era, it added. The law on radio and television was drafted to improve the
high-quality, innovative development of the industries, the
administration said. Some netizens have expressed support on social media for steps to
protect minors from some radio and TV content and also called for a
movie-rating system to be set up in China to better protect children. However, others queried the necessity of such rules, saying that "the
majority of children don't watch TV or listen to the radio any longer". Zhu Wei, deputy director of the Communication Law Research Center at
the China University of Political Science and Law, said minors should be
protected from harmful content and information in an all-around way. "There are already laws and regulations to keep them away from
harmful information like pornographic or vulgar online content," he
said. "Although as technologies improve, radio and TV are no longer the
major channels for children to access information, it's still important
for laws to be there to protect them."
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