Chinese Kids Have Their Online Gaming Time Slashed By New Government Rules

Those under 18 will only be able to play for one hour on Friday, Saturday & Sunday

A new rule being introduced by the The National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA), China’s online watchdog, is looking to curb what the government feels is a growing “gaming addiction among young people.”

The rule drastically cuts back on the time those under the age of 18 are allowed to play online video games over the weekend, with a one-hour limit to be imposed from Fri-Sun, and which also includes public holidays. That would mean that most of the year, kids would be allowed a maximum of three hours of online gaming per week.

As the South China Morning Post reports, the rule was first published in state media outlet Xinhua, where a government spokesperson said, “Many parents have said that the gaming addiction problem among teens and children has gravely affected their ability to learn and study as well as their physical and mental health, even causing a series of societal problems.”

Enforcement of this rule is going to be left to China’s gaming companies, like Tencent and NetEase, who are being asked to “strictly implement” registration and login systems that require the use of a player’s real name. Tencent, for its part, has already said that “it supports the new regulation and will implement the new requirements as soon as possible.”

Read the full article on Kotaku