Original title: 'prevention and treatment of Internet addiction' is proposed into the law, and it may also be advisable to explicitly prohibit 'electric shock' source: Beijing News
Seven years after its implementation, the law on the protection of minors will welcome the 'overhaul' for the first time. The 14th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress, which opened on October 21, will consider the revised draft law on the protection of minors and the revised draft law on the prevention of juvenile delinquency, the Beijing News reported. It is revealed that the prevention and control of Internet addiction, namely 'prevention and control of Internet addiction', is to be written into the law on the protection of minors.
The prevention and treatment of Internet addiction into the law is not abrupt. Nowadays, Internet addiction has become a global social problem. According to the relevant data of the Health Commission, the proportion of global teenagers over relying on the Internet is 6%, while that in China is close to 10%, and the situation in rural areas is more serious. If this momentum is not curbed, it will undoubtedly damage the physical and mental health of minors.
Legislation should be made in due course. It is the common practice of countries all over the world to strengthen the network legislative protection of minors. Previously, the relevant legislative work was actually being promoted -- in January 2017, the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council published the regulations on the protection of minors' networks (Draft for approval). However, up to now, the regulations have not been issued, and the revised draft of the law on the protection of minors is ready to come out. The reason is that although there are still disputes related to the provisions such as "restricting online game services", from the perspective of the legislative principle that the lower law must obey the upper law, it is better to amend the juvenile protection law first, and then legislate the lower level regulations according to the spirit of the upper law, so as to maintain the unity between laws and regulations.
It should be emphasized that legislation regulates the prevention and control of Internet addiction, and the measures and means can be flexible and diverse, but its purpose is also to protect the rights and interests of minors and protect them from Internet addiction. In order to protect Internet addiction, we should also hold the bottom line in the prevention and treatment of Internet Addiction - that is, to prevent chaos such as violent abuse or coercion, including 'electric shock treatment of Internet addiction', so as to avoid serious consequences for their body and mind.
For these practical problems, the legislative level may also wish to give a resounding response, making it clear that the entry of Internet addiction prevention and control into the law is not equal to opening the eyes to 'electric shock treatment' and other rough means. The regulations to be issued before made it clear that no organization or individual shall engage in activities to prevent and intervene minors from indulging in the Internet through abuse, coercion and other illegal means, damage minors' physical and mental health and infringe upon minors' legitimate rights and interests.
In the final analysis, it is necessary to take advantage of the revision of the law on the protection of minors to standardize the 'prevention and control of Internet addiction' with the times. While learning from the experience of other countries and legislating to regulate the rights and obligations of all parties, it is also appropriate to clearly prohibit violent beating, abuse and coercion, get rid of the red line such as Internet addiction, and better protect the rights and interests of minors.