Chinese regulators want to restrict how young people engage with live streamers

China is restricting how young people use live streaming services as part of a regulatory crackdown on the sector.

According to Reuters, the National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA) is ushering in controls that will prevent under-18s from tipping live streamers or becoming live streamers without consent from a guardian.

The NRTA, which is a state-controlled agency run by the Publicity Department of the Chinese Communist Party, also intends to add "youth mode" functions that will prevent younger viewers from watching streams beyond 10pm local time. 

The news comes after an earlier report that indicated the Cyberspace Administration of China intended to make it hard for tech companies like Tencent to profit from video games, live streaming, and social media platforms.

Prior to that, the Chinese government imposted playtime limits for those under the age of 18 to prevent them accessing video games for more than one hour per day between Friday and Sunday. It also ordered game companies to ban children from accessing games during the rest of the week, excluding holidays.

For added context, Chinese State Media outlet Economic Information Daily had previously decried video games as "spiritual opium" and called for more regulation of games businesses in a bid to curb a market it claimed would "destroy a generation."