When some learning apps are opened, pornographic advertisements pop up
Study App Chaos Survey
Motivation for investigation
The "Notice on Further Doing a Good Job in the Filing and Management of Educational Mobile Internet Applications" recently issued by the Beijing Municipal Education Commission and other three departments clarifies that the content provided by educational mobile applications must not contain negative information, bad information, game links and advertisements, etc. ; Do not provide and disseminate functions such as "photo search questions" that inert the thinking ability of primary and secondary school students, affect students' independent thinking, and violate the laws of education and teaching.
In the past two years, due to the impact of epidemic prevention and control, many children have been taking online classes at home for a long time, and learning apps have also emerged, becoming important assistants for children's daily learning.
At the same time, some learning apps have problems such as inducing advertisements, pornography and violence, etc., which make many parents feel uneasy.
In order to expose the problems and root causes of learning apps, explore ways to rectify them, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of minors, the reporter conducted an investigation and interview.
□ Our reporter Han Dandong
□ Our intern Wang Yitian
The downloaded self-study software has become a tool for children to make friends and chat; a large number of advertisements have been inserted into the learning app, which not only greatly reduces the user experience, but also contains some content related to pornography and violence; the “Free Get ×××” activity was pushed, etc. There is a suspicion of inducing minors to recharge... In the past few days, many parents have complained to the "Rules of Law Daily" reporter about the issue of learning apps.
A number of interviewed experts believe that to improve the chaos of learning apps, relevant departments should formulate stricter laws and regulations, refine relevant regulations, and at the same time let the industry know the importance of minors education, and remove the atmosphere of commercialization and entertainment. .
Chatting in the Learning App is busy
The chat room is smoky
Ms. Wu from Cangzhou, Hebei complained that her son who was in elementary school downloaded an online self-study app in the name of learning.
She looked up the reason and found that the child did not use the app to learn at all, but to chat. "I experienced this app. Although it has a learning function, it is more like a leisure and entertainment app, and the chat room is even more smoky."
According to Ms. Wu's instructions, the reporter downloaded the app and opened it to see that there are indeed many "entertainment" functions in it: the self-study area is distributed according to different grades, and you can design your own image, decorate the simulated classroom, and post a message wall.
In addition to the self-study area, the app also has an activity area and a sleeping area. In the activity area chat room, users can speak freely.
The reporter randomly entered a chat room called "K song room". The four people in the room chatted in full swing. A boy named "Shuishengyan" proposed the idea of falling in love, and then used "Truth or Dare" "The session confessed to another girl.
In another 5-person chat room, a boy named "Nanyin" was speaking, swearing and urging others present to join him in self-harm.
"Mengmeng", a junior high school student in Beijing, told reporters that this kind of scolding is more common on the app's message wall.
The reporter came to the message wall and saw that many people were openly scolding here, and the words were very vicious; many people left messages such as "friends looking for me, high-quality boyfriend/girlfriend".
On a screenshot of the app provided to reporters by "Mengmeng", the dozen or so private messages on the page above are all strangers who want to add her as a friend.
"Mengmeng" said that some of her classmates have used learning apps, just punch a card in the study room, and then go to the chat area and message wall to "surf the Internet".
According to Zhu Wei, deputy director of the Communication Law Research Center of China University of Political Science and Law, for learning apps, especially when the users are minors, the platform should provide management services that are consistent with this, and should not use the principle of technology neutrality to defend. This reflects the principle of protection of minors and avoids the abuse of functions due to poor supervision.
Cheng Fangping, a professor at the School of Education of Renmin University of China, said that the producers of some learning apps are not from education majors, and the apps they make are highly commercial and entertaining, which is not conducive to children's learning and growth, and requires social media including platforms. All parties should take responsibility and jointly create an environment conducive to the growth of young people.
Linked to induce consumption
Business climate needs to be rectified urgently
Inducing consumption has always been one of the most criticized problems of learning apps.
On the third-party complaint platform, many consumers said that they were attracted by slogans such as "get courses for free" and "one yuan to grab courses" on learning apps. After clicking to register, they found that it was an endless promotion.
The reporter downloaded a learning counseling app and registered as a "sixth grader".
When browsing the "Live Class" column, the advertisement for the "One Yuan Quick Grab" sixth-grade high-efficiency review special training course package pops up. It is marked with the word "Limited".
Just when the reporter was about to exit the advertisement page, when he pressed the return button, a prompt popped up: "Congratulations, you have obtained a free material package, and you can enjoy a list of knowledge points and synchronous practice questions for 0 yuan." program, a QR code photo will pop up, and reporters need to scan the code to add it to receive it.
After scanning the code and adding it, the other party sent the reporter free links to three courses and a link to a lucky draw. Among the dazzling array of physical goods, the prize the reporter drew was "26 video lessons", and the above courses could not be opened at all.
Afterwards, a staff member named "Mr. Junjun" invited reporters to join the course group, calling himself the class teacher, and asked the students to scan the code to attend the class. After the teacher of the live class explained two problem-solving skills, he began to recommend course products—— Learning spree from 2098 yuan to 3798 yuan.
After the class, "Mr. Junjun" immediately contacted the reporter and continued to sell the learning spree.
The reporter asked if I can continue to attend classes for free without buying the study package?
"Mr. Junjun" said that he can continue to attend classes for free, but if you want to study systematically, you must pay a fee. Now there is a discount for ordering a learning package.
The next day, in the course group, "Teacher Junjun" repeatedly emphasized the advantages of the learning package and the great discount. There were 6 "student parents" in the group who said they had signed up.
Seeing that there was no response from the reporter, "Mr. Junjun" sent a few messages to the reporter. First, he told the reporter that the autumn long-term class was on sale today, and there were only 3 courses left. Here are two pictures that introduce the price of the course combination, the price is 2098 yuan to 3996 yuan.
Zhu Wei believes that there is indeed a large number of consumption-inducing situations in current learning apps. These app developers regard minors as "cash cows" and take advantage of minors' mental incompetence and parents' investment in education regardless of the cost. The pretense of "free" and "one dollar snap-up" first attracts traffic and then induces consumption.
This mess needs to be rectified in time.
Cheng Fangping believes that a highly commercial marketing method such as "one-dollar panic buying" should not be used in the field of education, and relevant departments should regulate such phenomena.
Porn-related ads are full of them
Affect the healthy growth of children
"It's a good learning app, but when you click it, it's full of spam ads," said Mr. Zhang from Chaoyang, Beijing, angrily.
He told reporters that his children often use electronic devices to learn, but some learning apps often pop up various advertisements, such as sales advertisements, game advertisements, etc., and some advertisements or content are "unsuitable for children", which seriously affects children's physical and mental health. .
The reporter randomly searched the mobile phone application mall with keywords such as "learning" and "education", downloaded nearly 100 learning apps, and found that the problems mentioned by Mr. Zhang are relatively common.
For example, a learning app called "Tu Xiaomeng Children's Paradise" displays a variety of small games on the interface, most of which are related to children's literacy and development of thinking.
When playing these games, if you want to unlock a certain item or prop, you need to click the advertisement button above the watch icon. The advertisement that pops up after the reporter clicks turned out to be "Friends in the same city, lonely appointment", with a picture of scantily clad women.
Continue to play, the next three are also such ads.
In the "Baby Watch" column of this app, ads also pop up when the video is playing, and you need to watch it for at least 5 seconds to skip it.
There are many types of advertisements, some recommend pornographic novels, some recommend bookkeeping and make money applets, and some claim to receive baby daily necessities for free.
To remove these advertisements, users need to open a continuous monthly membership with a price of 39 yuan, an annual membership of 198 yuan, or a permanent membership of 498 yuan.
On the right side of the app's main interface, there is a small blue TV icon. After clicking, the interface jumps to another applet called "Nanya Novels". The content of the novels automatically pushed and displayed is very explicit and contains a lot of sexuality. Suggestions and erotic bridges.
In this regard, Zhu Wei said that my country's Advertising Law clearly prohibits such advertisements involving pornography and violence, and the Minor Protection Law also has relevant provisions. Online education network products and services targeting minors must not insert online game links. Information that is not related to teaching, such as advertisements, shall not be pushed.
Cheng Fangping said that the platform side puts the commerciality of the App first, which will easily lead to such phenomena, which will intensify and seriously affect the physical and mental health of minors. Similar illegal advertisements no longer appear in apps used by minors.
Perfect laws and strict supervision
Multi-party work together to control chaos
For all kinds of chaos in learning apps, how to standardize has become an urgent problem to be solved.
Chu Zhaohui, a researcher at the China Academy of Education, believes that relevant departments should strictly enforce the law in accordance with existing laws and regulations, and regulate the responsible subjects of such apps.
The platform side should perform its duties with due diligence, and promptly remove the app if it finds a problem, so as to ensure that minors have a good learning environment.
Zhu Wei said that the relevant departments should establish and improve the minor system and youth model, strengthen the protection of minors when using various software at the technical level, and ensure the healthy growth of minors.
Cheng Fangping believes that to improve the chaos of learning apps, the relevant departments should formulate stricter laws and regulations, refine the relevant regulations, and at the same time let the industry know the importance of education for minors, and work together to control the chaos and remove the commercialization of learning apps. , an entertaining atmosphere.
"Guaranteeing the physical and mental health of minors is not only reflected in the supervision of learning apps, but also should raise the awareness of the whole society, create a situation where 'problem apps are shouted and beaten', and fundamentally protect minors." Cheng Fangping said.