China forbids kids to play video games for more than 3 hours a week

Kids under 18 years old in China are now restricted to play video games for only three hours a week, according to a new rule imposed by regulators and published by China’s National Press and Publication Administration on Monday, August 30.

As Reuter reports, the new rule is being implemented as part of Beijing’s attempt to strengthen control of its society’s gaming addiction and as a broader crackdown on China’s tech giants, such as Alibaba Group and Tencent Holdings.

With the new rule, children will now be limited to one hour of gaming from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, as well as official holidays. It’s a cutback from 2019’s rules where children were allowed to play for 1.5 hours on any day and three hours on holidays.

To ensure that the new rules are strictly followed, 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. In addition, regulators will work with parents and schools in putting an end to gaming addiction among the Chinese youth.

The new rule was issued a month after a state media outlet published an article describing online games as “spiritual opium” and criticizing Tencent and its game Honor of Kings.

Tencent later announced new measures to reduce the time and money children spend on games, starting with Honor of Kings. Its president also said it was working with regulators to explore ways in which the total amount of time minors spent on gaming could be capped across all titles in the industry.

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Source: Speed Magazine PH