Guwahati News Desk: China goes ahead to set new online gaming rules for the children who are engaged in playing video games.
The new rules were published on Monday, and are part of a major shift by Beijing to strengthen control over its society and key sectors of its economy, including tech, education and property, after years of runaway growth.
The restrictions, which apply to any devices including phones, are a body blow to a global gaming industry that caters to tens of millions of young players in the world’s most lucrative market.
As per the newly set rules, China has forbidden under-18s from playing video games for more than three hours a week. They have limited the under-18s, by allowing them to play for one hour a day, i.e. from 8 pm to 9 pm on only Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. They can also play for an hour, at the same time, on public holidays.
The gaming companies will be barred from providing services to minors in any form outside the stipulated hours and must ensure they have put real-name verification systems in place.
As per the sources, the rules have been set by the National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA).
An unnamed NPPA spokesperson said, “Teenagers are the future of our motherlandâ¦Protecting the physical and mental health of minors is related to the people’s vital interests, and relates to the cultivation of the younger generation in the era of national rejuvenation.”
Meanwhile, the new rules swiftly became one of the most discussed topics on Weibo, China’s microblogging website, just like Twitter. Some users expressed support for the measures while others said they were surprised at how drastic the rules were.
One comment that received over 700 likes read, “This is so fierce that I’m utterly speechless.”
While others expressed doubt saying that the restrictions could be enforced and said, “They will just use their parents’ logins, how can they control it?”
Moreover, even in 2019, China had limited the length of time in which the under-18s could play video games, and back then it had been limited to 1.5 hours on any day and three hours on holidays.
Photo | Getty Image
