Why China has imposed strict bans on gaming time
Regulators in China have imposed new restrictions on young gamers.
The new laws dictate that players under the age of 18 are only allowed to play online games for one hour on Fridays, weekends and holidays.
The strict regulations come in response to growing concerns over gaming addiction in reports by the state media.
Published by the National Press and Publication Administration, the rules say that gaming hours will also be limited from 8pm to 9pm, as reported by Xinhua news agency.
Online gaming companies will be banned from providing any gaming services to teens in any form outside those hours, as well as having to enforce name verification systems that oversee China’s video games market.
China has previously limited the total length of time minors could access online games to three hours on a holiday or 1.5 hours on other days.
The new rules have come in conjunction with a crackdown by Beijing on China’s tech giants, such as Tencent Holdings and Alibaba Group, which has spooked investors and plummeted Chinese shares traded at home and overseas.
The National Press and Publication Administration also told Xinhua news agency that it would be increasing the intensity and frequency of inspections for online gaming companies to ensure they are adhering to the new laws.
This is the second act of China limiting entertainment resources, as government agencies recently announced a blacklist of popular songs in the country’s booming karaoke industry.
Any song that was deemed to have “harmful content” was removed from country-wide karaoke venues, as rules outlined by the country’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism state that karaoke must not endanger national unity, sovereignty or territorial integrity.
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