Minor children in China, after government intervention, should now play online for up to 3 hours a week.
Chinese gaming platforms such as Tencent and NetEase must limit online gaming for minors to just three hours a week, following new rules imposed by regulators.
According to Bloomberg , which cites state media reports, the change is being made in response to growing concern about gaming addiction and a broader crackdown on China's tech giants.
Children under the age of 18 will now be limited to one hour of play, namely from 8 pm to 9 pm on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. And on holidays.
The limit so far (of course there was!) Was 1,5 hours of online gaming for most days. According to Reuters, gaming companies should restrict online gambling outside of these hours and should have a real-name verification system in place to ensure that the new rules are enforced.
Regulators say they will also work with parents and schools to help combat gambling addiction among young people.
The new rules issued today come a month after an article published by state media described online games as “spiritual opium.” Although the phrase was later removed, the tone of the article, especially in retrospect, left no doubt that state intervention was inevitable.
Dimitris hates Mondays...
