China imposes severe restrictions on online gaming to combat review addiction among young people

Chinese authorities are tightening restrictions on access to online games for minors.

According to the decree in force since 2019, users under the age of 18 could spend a maximum of one and a half hours in online games on weekdays and three hours on weekends and holidays.

Now, new edits oblige all local developers to strictly restrict access to their online gaming services for minors at any time, except for one hour from 20:00 to 21:00 local time from Friday to Sunday and on established holidays

In addition, all platforms will have to strictly comply with the requirements to prohibit the provision of services to users without registering accounts in their real name, and regulators have been tasked to strengthen supervision and verification of the implementation of measures to prevent addiction to online games among minors, up to the application of serious penalties in accordance with applicable law. and rules.

A few weeks ago, the Chinese state news agency Xinhua released a publication that further raised issues related to video game addiction among young people. The article compared games with “electronic drugs” and “spiritual opium”, which led to a sharp collapse in the shares of local gaming companies. After that, the original material was edited, and one of the anonymous sources stated that the article did not reflect the official position of China.

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