China: State Administration for Market Regulation national standard technical requirements for safety of children's watches (GB 46859-2025) enters into force

On 1 January 2027, the State Administration for Market Regulation's national standard Safety Technical Requirements for Children's Smartwatches enters into force. The standard sets provisions for children’s watches designed for users aged 3 to under 14 years, covering structural safety, chemical limits, fire resistance, waterproofing, electromagnetic compatibility, and battery protection. It establishes requirements for data security and personal information protection under the Cybersecurity Law, the Data Security Law, and the Personal Information Protection Law, including encryption, access controls, prohibitions on advertising, and restrictions on pre-installed applications. The standard also mandates anti-addiction mechanisms, guardian-controlled payment systems, secure communication functions, emergency call features, curated content libraries, and loss-reporting procedures. Additional obligations include clear labelling and instructions, restrictions on biometric data collection and use, secure server-side storage, user account authentication, vulnerability patching, access for guardians to usage records, and emergency location reporting, supported by type-approval testing and conformity of production.