“Mum Jury” (mama pingshentuan) is a non-governmental organization (NGO) established in 2010 in Beijing. It was initiated by the Beijing Internet Association, a non-profit social organization operating under the guidance and supervision of its administrative body – the Beijing Cyberspace Administration Office (BCAO), a provincial-level branch of the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC). CAC is China’s leading internet regulatory authority. Mum Jury actively engages in efforts to address online content deemed harmful to children and participates in initiatives to prevent internet addiction among children. Hundreds of mothers in Beijing have been recruited through voluntary applications to support the initiative.
In this commentary, we examine the functions of Mum Jury and compare its operational model with that of similar NGOs in Western contexts. We are not making an argument on which approach is more effective in supporting families in the digital age; rather, we highlight these cases to illustrate how contemporary digital parenting practices are influenced by differing internet governance models. We call for future research to theorize digital parenting as micro-level internet governance within the domestic sphere, which positions parents as critical stakeholders in the internet governance ecosystem and highlights the need for coordinated efforts among policymakers, industry actors, and families to cultivate safer and more supportive online environments for children