China moves to stop 'internet addiction' rehab camps from using shock therapy on teens

For the past decade, concerned Chinese parents have been sending their internet-addicted teenagers to "boot camps" that claim to offer a cure.

But teens have claimed that abuse is rampant in the camps; electric shock therapy and drugs are some of the "treatments" administered. People have died in the past in these rehab centres, as well.

The Chinese government has now drafted a new law that aims to protect attendees from such abuse, the South China Morning Post reported.

The cyberprotection law, if it goes into effect, will prevent these centres from abusing or threatening minors attending.

It will also extend to online game makers and internet cafes, who may have to put a curfew on the hours minors can play, preventing them from staying up into the night. Smartphone games are also included in the draft law.

The internet boot camps have profited in recent years because of high demand from parents seeking treatment for their children.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

One in five of the country's 750 million internet users are aged below 19, and China recognises internet addiction as a clinical disorder.

Electric shock therapy to treat internet addiction has been a controversial practice in China since 2006. The practice was banned by China's Ministry of Health in 2009, but still continues to flourish.

Attendees have reported being shocked more than 135 times in 100 days in some boot camps, while those who misbehave or attempt to kill themselves are subjected to more electric shock therapy.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Last year, a 16-year-old teenager named Chen Xinran tied her mother to a chair and put her up for ransom, in retaliation for being sent to an abusive internet addiction boot camp in Shandong.

Chen wrote of her experiences in a blog post, where she told of how she was abducted and suffered various abuses under school officials, including being forced to eat in front of a latrine pit and regularly beaten.

After her story went viral, other teenagers stepped forward to claim that they too were tased, deprived of sleep and threatened at the Shandong boot camp.