China is moving forward with new legislature that limits those under 18 years of age to three hours of online video games a week.
As announced by The People's Daily, the official newspaper for the Chinese Communist Party, on popular social media app Weibo, anyone under the age of 18 will be prohibited from playing more than an hour of online video games on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and public holidays. This hour of playing will be restricted from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. Local game developers and publishers have been instructed to implement measures to ensure children don't play outside of the specified time zone. These same companies will also be routinely inspected to ensure that they are complying with the new law.
Online game companies will now require players to create an account using their real name if they wish to access a particular title. Beyond that, many publishers are reportedly looking into implementing some form of facial recognition software that may lock out younger players looking to push past their allotted playtime. Chinese gaming behemoth Tencent announced the rollout of facial recognition software in China for several of its titles in July 2021.
China has steadily been pushing to reduce the time its younger citizens spend gaming for several years now. In 2019, the Chinese Communist Party implemented a law that limited minors to 90 minutes of video games a day until 10 p.m. This latest piece of legislature serves as an extension of that already established practice.
Stephen McDonell, Chinese correspondent for the BBC, confirmed that the implementation of what many are describing as a severe restriction is due to concerns surrounding video game addiction. "The National Press and Publication Administration made the announcement said to be in response to concern re gaming addiction in #China. Regulators said gaming companies must ensure they're using real name verification to stop those under 18 gaming outside those specific 3 hours."
McDonell also clarifies that the Chinese government has yet to confirm how foreign gaming companies will be made to abide by the new law. "It is unclear how foreign gaming companies might be regulated to make them also follow these rules when Chinese kids and teenagers play their games or even if there will be an attempt to make them?"
The Chinese Communist Party has yet to confirm when these new restrictions will officially be implemented.
Source: BBC News