Beijing bans preschool learning apps as crackdown on private tutoring continues

The official regulation is the latest move by Chinese authorities to reduce screen time and addiction to smartphones among kids. Rule is likely to be followed elsewhere in China as many officials now take the view that online learning does more harm than good for kids. — SCMP

The Beijing city government will no longer accept applications to launch new education apps for preschool children and will remove existing ones, as China’s crackdown on private tutoring continues.

In addition, tutoring apps targeting all ages shall not provide “negative or undesirable information”, “nor shall they contain gaming links or ads”, according to a regulation co-issued by the municipal education, cyberspace and communications administrations on Monday. The draft rule was published in February.