Foul language, mimicking smoking......Half a month after new regulations, these harmful videos are still being pushed to children

Spreading inappropriate online language, sexual hints, sexual teasing, promoting unhealthy lifestyles such as minors smoking, drinking, getting tattoos, as well as cheating, truancy, bullying, and other violations of school rules… Starting March 1, according to the newly issued “Classification Measures for Online Information That May Affect the Physical and Mental Health of Minors,” such “information that may have a negative impact on minors’ values” is explicitly classified as “non-compliant,” and platforms are clearly required not to push such content to minors.

However, a recent investigation by Beijing Daily client found that some videos still contain a large amount of foul language, horror scenes, vulgar content, and more, without any warnings, crossing the regulatory red line of the new rules.

Phenomenon 1

Animated characters using foul language

On Bilibili, a 1 minute and 13 seconds animated video titled “I! My! Sword! Shield!” has over 20 million views, with frequent use of foul language. The character Xiao Zhu repeatedly uses slang and profanity, with subtitles showing phrases like “What the X is mom doing.”

Some animated videos are excessively terrifying. In the video “Captain Mickey Mouse, He’s Going to Eat Me,” dark scenes show animated characters with wide-open mouths and sharp teeth, as if about to eat someone, accompanied by creepy background music, which even makes some adults feel scared, not to mention potential psychological shadows for children.

The reporter noted that these videos lack warnings such as “Not suitable for minors.” Whether from content creators, uploaders, or online platforms, there is no effective labeling.

Hao Mengqi, an assistant judge at the Juvenile Court of Beijing First Intermediate People’s Court, believes that minors are the main audience for animated content, and high-quality animations should convey healthy, positive values. However, some maliciously parody or dub animations are filled with foul language and vulgar content. Since minors’ physical and mental development is still immature and their “three views” (worldview, outlook on life, values) are not fully formed, their ability to distinguish right from wrong is relatively weak. Long-term exposure to bad information can easily influence the formation of correct values and moral judgment. Content involving horror, violence, and bloodshed can directly harm the mental health and spiritual growth of young children.

Phenomenon 2

Young children imitating smoking and displaying tattoos

The reporter saw a video on a platform showing a young child imitating smoking: a boy holding a long cigarette between his index and middle fingers in his left hand, with a lighter in his right hand, pretending to light the cigarette, then putting it in his mouth. The video was captioned “So cute, a baby learning to smoke at 1.5 years old, acting like a pro.” Some netizens called the baby “cute,” while others worried: “This is not good, he’s so young.” “He was interested in cigarettes as a child, he might start smoking when he hits puberty.”

There are more videos of adults smoking. One shows a trendy young person with a cigarette, smoke drifting around, with slow-motion footage. Many comments praise “cool” or “handsome,” while others question: “Where is morality? Where is the bottom line?”

Additionally, the reporter found videos of young children displaying tattoos on their chests and other areas. One young boy rolled up his sleeve, showing a black dragon tattoo on his upper arm, with the caption: “Exuding a bit of kingly aura since childhood.”

Another video shot at an exhibition shows an 8-year-old girl holding a tattooing tool, working on an adult woman’s arm, with the caption: “8-year-old tattoo artist?!” The video has 11,000 likes. Many netizens praised the girl as “awesome,” while others called it “child labor,” and some found the content “limitless.”

The reporter noted that none of these videos had warnings such as “Prohibited for minors” or “Minors are forbidden from smoking (or tattooing),” which are explicitly required by the new regulations. These are “information that may induce or encourage minors to imitate or engage in bad behavior,” easily leading other children to imitate.

Phenomenon 3

“Child version of the霸总” short dramas gaining views

Earlier this year, a short drama titled “Forced to Marry the Koi, Living as the King of Hell, the Fate of the Mansion is Completely Broken” was taken down after outrage because it cast an 11-year-old girl as a “bride for arranged marriage.” The show featured unethical themes like “marrying at 7, having children at 15,” and included scenes of male and female leads hugging and holding hands, which many viewers found “bottomless.”

Recently, the reporter found that some short dramas starring minors show minors with adult tendencies, portraying “scheming and cunning kids,” stories of little girls and “child version of the霸总.”

In the platform’s short drama “Domineering Cute Baby, Lost Memory of Parents,” a few-year-old boy in a suit and sunglasses, sitting in a luxury car, is escorted into a hotel by bodyguards. The female boss, after saying the wrong thing, is scolded and kneels to beg. Many such dramas with minors as leads show a trend of adultization, like “child霸总” characters.

In Hippo Theater, animated shorts like “The Cold School Belle Chases Me” depict middle school romance, including scenes of writing love letters and confessing in front of the class; another, “Switching Jobs to a Bathing Attendant, Bringing Talent to the School Belle,” opens with a male student working as a bath attendant, giving massages to female classmates; there are also scenes of school bullying, where wealthy students attack poorer students out of jealousy.

Hao Mengqi believes that using minors to portray content with bad values or inappropriate behavior, as explicitly regulated by the new rules, is “improper use of minors’ images,” which can easily lead minors to imitate and develop distorted values. This not only severely violates minors’ physical and mental development but also infringes on their dignity, mental health, and value perception. Essentially, it turns minors into tools for gaining traffic and profits.

Phenomenon 4

“Borderline” videos on the homepage front screen

Since March 1, the new regulations strictly prohibit presenting content that may affect minors’ mental and physical health on the homepage, pop-ups, trending searches, rankings, and featured sections.

However, the reporter still saw many “borderline” videos on some platforms’ front pages and popular sections.

On Bilibili’s “Recommended” section, a video shows a woman with large breasts twisting her body, with sexual hints. In the “Hot” section and related videos, there are automatically recommended videos. One with 7.44 million views shows a woman half-dressed, wearing very short shorts, standing in front of a blackboard or sitting provocatively on a desk. Other recommended videos feature women in revealing outfits with suggestive poses, easily influencing minors. A video with 1.25 million views shows a girl even crawling into a young man’s T-shirt, then appearing to kiss him.

Some netizens in the comments called for action: “Hope Bilibili stops sending inappropriate adult content, and I urge everyone to report these videos.”

According to the new rules, organizations and individuals involved in producing, copying, publishing, or disseminating such content must provide prominent warnings before display, and platforms must offer warning labels and guide users to use content responsibly. However, these borderline videos lack warnings like “Not suitable for minors.”

Follow-up

How do platforms regulate?

The reporter reported the “inappropriate” videos to Bilibili customer service. The staff said they would pass the issue to the relevant team for verification. Later, the reporter received a reply that the videos did not meet the criteria for removal, but the platform would monitor and focus on the reported accounts. The customer service also suggested enabling minors’ mode and recommended educational videos within the platform.

However, Wang Jie, director of Beijing Zhongrun Law Firm, clearly stated that these videos violate the new regulations, as they contain “sexual hints, sexual teasing, and other content that can easily evoke sexual associations.” Publishing such content publicly on platforms may cause minors to imitate or be adversely affected. “This is indeed inappropriate, and platforms should take further responsibility.”

Wang Jie said that after March 1, platforms can no longer shirk responsibility by claiming “technical neutrality.” Now, with four specific lists as legal tools for targeted enforcement, platforms must fully assume their responsibilities: 1) pre-approval, especially for content involving minors, establishing dedicated review mechanisms; 2) clear warnings for bad content, with no transmission without warnings; 3) immediate action—delete, block, or break links upon discovering illegal content, keep records, and report to cyber or public security authorities; 4) algorithm control—no pushing of illegal content to minors, no inducement to addiction, no commercial marketing; 5) account management—no live streaming accounts for minors under 16.

What are the penalties for violations? Hao Mengqi explained that content creators and publishers violating regulations can be ordered by authorities to delete or remove illegal content, confiscate illegal gains, impose fines, etc. For platform operators or service providers, warnings, criticism, fines, or suspension of services can be enforced. Serious violations may lead to suspension, revocation of licenses, or criminal liability.

Additionally, violating minors’ rights and causing harm will result in civil liability; if constituting public security violations, administrative penalties apply; if criminal, criminal prosecution will follow.

“With the new regulations in place, law enforcement will be more precise, penalties stricter, and accountability more thorough,” Wang Jie added. Both platforms and creators must strictly comply. Violations involving minors can lead to penalties under the Classification Measures and the Minors’ Online Protection Regulations, or even criminal charges. Platforms are the primary responsible entities, required to perform full review, warning, disposal, and reporting duties; creators must not exploit minors for traffic or cross legal boundaries. Clear legal basis exists for supervision and rights protection—violations will be punished, infringements compensated, and crimes prosecuted.

Source: Beijing Daily client