Part One:

Introduction to the Regulations of Shanghai Municipality on the Protection of Minors

On February 18, 2022, the Regulations of Shanghai Municipality on the Protection of Minors (hereinafter referred to as the "Regulations") were adopted by vote at the 39th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 15th Municipal People's Congress. The Regulations came into effect on March 1, 2022.

The Regulations of Shanghai Municipality on the Protection of Minors consist of nine chapters and eighty - seven articles, covering family protection, self - protection, school protection, social protection, network protection, government protection, judicial protection, special protection and other contents. In addition, the Regulations make supplementary and detailed provisions for relevant entities to jointly participate in the prevention and rectification of minors' Internet addiction, Internet violence, irrational consumption, and bad Internet behavior; and further strengthen the main responsibilities of Internet product and service providers.

This revision of the Regulations is more based on education and protection. By clarifying the responsibilities of families, schools, society and the government, it provides a better school environment and social environment for minors, and better protects the physical and mental health of minors.

Part Two: New Highlights:

I. Refinement of School Protection (Articles 20 to 35)

The Regulations refine the school protection system for minors, and clarify the school's management responsibilities such as care and assistance, campus safety, school bus safety, response to emergencies and injury accidents. Regarding the mental health of minor students, the Regulations require schools to offer mental health courses,配备 mental health education teachers, and implement mental health counseling and psychological intervention. At the same time, in combination with the "double - reduction" policy, schools are required to reasonably arrange students' study, rest, entertainment and other time, and clear regulations are made on reducing the excessive learning burden of students.

Lawyer's Comment: The Regulations greatly refine the original regulations on school protection. Article 20 of the Regulations, as the leading provision in the chapter on school protection, expands the goals of school protection for minors and clarifies the position of the school principal as the first responsible person in the work system for the protection of minor students. In addition, many revisions in the Regulations reflect the increasing emphasis on the protection of minors' mental health. Moreover, in combination with social hot - spot issues, the Regulations respond to hot - spot issues such as the prevention and control of infectious diseases on campus, food and drug safety, campus bullying, and the "double - reduction" policy, so as to better and more comprehensively protect minors.

II. Protection of Minors' Personal Information (Article 41)

The Regulations focus on the protection of minors' personal information and clearly state that no organization or individual shall disclose the personal privacy of minors. When publishing, reprinting or spreading news reports and other information involving minors, it shall be objective, prudent and moderate, and shall not fabricate, exaggerate or distort relevant contents, nor shall it illegally disclose the names, addresses, work units, photos, images and other information that may identify the identities of minors.

Any organization or individual that processes the personal information of minors under the age of fourteen shall obtain the consent of the minors' parents or other guardians in accordance with the law. The parents or other guardians of minors shall make a prudent decision in accordance with the principle of the best interests of minors, fully considering the purpose, method, scope of information processing and the true wishes of minors.

Lawyer's Comment: The newly effective Personal Information Protection Law of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the "PIPL") includes the personal information of minors under the age of fourteen in the scope of sensitive personal information. In addition, the PIPL also requires personal information processors to obtain the consent of the parents or other guardians of minors under the age of fourteen when processing their personal information. Article 41 of the Regulations is a further refinement of the PIPL based on the actual situation. At present, some Internet platforms still illegally collect and use the personal information of minors, infringing on the rights and interests of minors. In response to this chaos, Article 41 of the Regulations clearly stipulates the legal obligations of protecting minors from the perspectives of any organization or individual and the guardians of minors, so that the personal information of minors can be more comprehensively protected.

III. Enrichment of Social Protection Content (Articles 36 to 47)

The Regulations make provisions on the setting of convenient service facilities in public places closely related to minors, protection in emergencies, management of places unsuitable for minors' activities, management of tobacco, alcohol and lottery tickets, etc. At the same time, it is stipulated that without the consent of the parents or other guardians of minors, no medical cosmetology services shall be provided to minors.

Article 47 of the Regulations requires units in close contact with minors to regularly query whether their staff members have criminal records of sexual assault, abuse, abduction, violent injury, etc. every year. If such illegal acts are found, the staff members shall be dismissed in time.

Lawyer's Comment: This revision of the Regulations greatly enriches the content of the chapter on social protection. Keeping up with social development, the Regulations add many social security provisions, and stipulate the protection responsibilities of many social entities for minors from all aspects of social life, including the requirement to actively promote the setting up of sanitary facilities such as mother - and - baby rooms and baby care stations, to give priority to rescuing minors in emergencies, not to organize or arrange minors to participate in emergency rescue work in emergencies, and to reduce the harm of the increasingly popular medical cosmetology to minors in recent years.

IV. Establishment of Network Protection (Articles 48 to 54)

With the popularization of electronic devices, the Internet has become an indispensable part of our lives. However, minors' mental development is not yet complete, and they are easily misled by some bad information. In response, the Regulations actively implement relevant requirements. They not only require the government, society, schools and families to strengthen the publicity and education of minors' Internet literacy, but also clarify and refine the responsibilities of Internet product and service providers, online game service providers and other entities in Article 53. For example, they require to standardize and guide minors' Internet behavior, and shall not induce minors to blindly pursue stars or consume blindly in the form of reward rankings, false publicity, etc.; it is strictly prohibited for minors to participate in vulgar Internet performances, bad Internet social activities, etc.

Lawyer's Comment: The Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Minors specially establishes a special chapter on network protection, requiring all departments and organizations to actively coordinate and take scientific and reasonable measures to prevent and intervene in the phenomenon of minors' Internet addiction, and to punish organizations and individuals that use the Internet to engage in activities harmful to the physical and mental health of minors in accordance with the law. Based on this law, the Regulations further clarify and refine the responsibilities of relevant departments, families, schools, Internet product and service providers and other entities, and further strengthen the prevention and rectification of Internet chaos.

V. Integration of Government Protection and Judicial Protection (Articles 55 to 74)

The Regulations integrate the contents of government protection and judicial protection. It is clear that the civil affairs departments at the municipal and district levels shall clarify relevant internal institutions and dedicated personnel to be responsible for the protection of minors. The people's governments of townships and sub - district offices shall establish protection workstations for minors or designate dedicated personnel to handle relevant affairs of minors in a timely manner. Relevant departments and mass organizations are required to implement specific responsibilities such as educational system reform, family education guidance services, and safety management of the campus and its surrounding environment. In addition, it is also clear that public security organs, procuratorates, courts, and judicial administrative departments shall perform their duties of establishing a judicial protection linkage mechanism, providing legal aid and judicial relief, and understanding and evaluating the psychological status of minor victims to assist in case - handling and protection work. For minors who violate the law and commit crimes, the principle of giving priority to education and supplementary punishment shall be adhered to, and corresponding protection systems shall be provided.

At present, the city has established a protection hotline for minors relying on the 12345 citizen service hotline. Relevant departments shall accept and forward complaints and reports of violations of the legitimate rights and interests of minors, collect opinions and suggestions, and provide consultation and assistance in the protection of minors. Relying on the 12355 youth service hotline and its online platform, consultation services such as mental health, legal rights protection, and safety protection are provided for minors.

Lawyer's comments: The Regulations have re - integrated and revised the chapter on state organ protection before the revision into chapters on government protection and judicial protection. It further refines the respective responsibilities of municipal and district government departments as well as judicial departments such as public security organs, procuratorates, and courts, increases the relevant responsibilities of each subject, and strengthens the administrative and judicial linkage functions of each department for the protection of minors, enabling each department to better safeguard the physical and mental health of minors.

VI. Addition of a Special Protection Chapter (Articles 75 to 83)

Article 75 of the Regulations clarifies the situations of improper guardianship and lack of guardianship. For families with situations of lack of guardianship or improper guardianship, Article 78 of the Regulations also clearly stipulates that relevant departments have the right to conduct family guardianship ability assessments on the parents or other guardians of minors in accordance with relevant standards and norms. The assessment results shall serve as a reference for the determination of guardianship ability, guardianship intervention and assistance, or the restoration of the guardianship qualification of the guardian.

Article 77 of the Regulations clarifies that neighborhood committees, village committees, or civil affairs departments are the subjects to perform temporary guardianship duties. For minors under temporary guardianship, temporary living care methods such as entrusting relatives for foster care and family foster care can be adopted, or they can be handed over to the rescue and protection institutions for minors or child welfare institutions for accommodation and foster care.

Lawyer's comments: The Civil Code of the People's Republic of China and the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Minors have relevant provisions on issues such as the appointment, revocation, change, and temporary guardianship of guardians for minors. On this basis, the Regulations further clarify the situations of lack of guardianship and improper guardianship, refine relevant measures for the protection of minors in distress, and further clarify the specific responsibilities of neighborhood committees, village committees, civil affairs departments, and other relevant departments.