China plans to limit kids’ video game play time to just 3 hours a week!

China is reportedly going to ban kids and teens under 18 years old from playing online video games for more than three hours per week.

File photo: Moto G 5G Plus

To address "the problem of minors' excessive use" of online gaming?

A new set rule was released by China’s National Press and Publication Administration. It states that the government will allow players below 18 years old to play online for up to 3 hours per week only.

This decision from China could heavily impact big gaming companies like Tencent and NetEase. They have experienced a lot of issues due to several new regulations from the state, including anti-monopoly and data protection. 

To recall, we reported that Tencent's new facial recognition technology was deployed to limit the time spent on video games of those below 18 years old. There were thousands of complaints about China's decision to restrict controls and lesser anonymity on the Internet. 

Aside from that, there's a hashtag on Weibo that reminds gamers to make sure they were fully dressed in case the camera captured more than their faces

Based on the translated notice regarding new rules from the Chinese state, those who are under 28 years old will be permitted to play one hour a day between 8 PM and 9 PM during weekends and legal holidays. Allegedly, these rules are regarded as a solution to protect children's physical and mental health. 

These rules are going to be implemented on gaming companies that provide online game services to minors. Thus, it limits their ability to serve those users outside of designated hours. 

In addition to this, they are prohibited to provide services to users who haven't logged in with real-name registration. This will prevent them from simply remaining ignorant of their users' profiles.

Chinese gaming company Tencent released a statement that it will abide by these new regulations. Reportedly, the company has taken measures to pre-empt the regulators in recent months. Meanwhile, NetEase still hasn't aired its decision regarding this matter.

What do you think?

Source: CNBC