Minors under the age of 10 banned from participating in advertising

childChina’s top legislature has stipulated that minors under the age of 10 should not be selected to endorse advertising to better protect the minors’ physical and mental development. The top legislature on Monday began reviewing a draft amendment to the 20-year-old Advertisement Law that will better protect minors from advertisements, this according to reports from Xinhua.

It also stipulated in the draft amendment that advertisements should not include content to induce minors to ask their parents to buy products or services and should not include content that may cause minors to imitate unsafe behavior. Additionally, it prohibits advertising in high schools, primary schools and kindergartens as well as direct or indirect ads on education-related materials, such as textbooks, stationery, school uniforms and school buses.

Several popular kid stars from reality TV show “Dad! Where Are We Going?” could be influenced, including Tiantian, son of Chinese supermodel Zhang Liang, Cindy daughter of former Olympic diving champion Tian Liang, Angela, daughter of director Wang Yuelun and host Li Xiang and Kimi, son of singer-actor Jimmy Lin.

The draft amendment also bans outdoor and window tobacco advertisements and the use of the army’s flag, emblem and song in advertisements, in addition to the national flag, emblem and anthem. The draft amendment now stipulates that online advertising should also abide by the law. The amendment was submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC) for a second reading during its bimonthly session, which runs from Monday to Sunday.

Source: China Radio International