Chinese government bans young people from gaming for more than an hour and a half a day
The Chinese government has established rules to prevent children and young people from becoming addicted to games. For example, young people are not allowed to play for more than an hour and a half a day during the week and playing at night is prohibited.
Children and young people up to the age of 16 are allowed to play for three hours on weekends, but even then gaming is prohibited between ten o’clock in the evening and eight o’clock in the morning, according to a publication by Xinhuanet about which the New York Times writes. The rules are aimed at preventing game addiction.
The Chinese government also imposes maximums on the amount that young people can spend on games each month. That increases from 200 to 400 yuan, currently converted about 26 euros and 52 euros. How much it is depends on the age of the player. Players in China must register with their real name when playing online. That should make enforcement of the rules easier.
Game companies are responsible for monitoring compliance with the rules. They must keep in mind that children and young people do not play too much and spend too much money. If they fail to do so, warnings are issued first, followed by license revocation. After the license has been revoked, they are no longer allowed to be active on the Chinese market.
According to The New York Times, children can escape the limits by using a phone belonging to one of their parents. Also, the use of offline games cannot be regulated, so they can continue to play that way. It is not the first time that rules against gaming addiction have been introduced in China. That happened nine years ago.
New China government rules against game addiction | ||
For youth | Play up to 1.5 hours per working day Up to 3 hours of play on weekend days Do not play between 10 pm and 8 am |
Registration with real name online accounts |
For game companies | No payment services for children under 8 years old Limited amounts for young people between 8 and 16 years, between 200 and 400 yuan |
Exploring new age limits for games involving violence, for example |
For local authorities | More enforcement of rules at game companies | More guidance and supervision from parents for compliance |