China limits children to 3 hours of online gaming a week

Now if they'd just do the same thing to social media (TikTok) for the kids, the government would be consistent. But there are those who think doing so would harm the social score system that heavily relies on social media, and China is particularly concerned with how the kids think about them. It's a shame societies have to resort to such controls.

Guess, dictators gotta dictate.

The state does the parenting, not the parents. What could go wrong with that?

But mooooooom

There's authoritarianism for you!

But it will likely strengthen their nation. Hard to argue with the logic behind it.

In China, the state dictates a major part of your life, where you live, when you marry, how many children you have , what you eat, read……

So not a surprise they want to control this too.

How can they actually enforce this?

How can they actually enforce this?

I'm wondering the same thing. Probably placing the onus on the game service provider, as Tencent has been trying to regulate their user base.

Tencent said it would limit gaming time for minors to an hour a day and two hours during holidays, as well as ban children under the age of 12 from making in-game purchases.

I would actually like to see more specifics on this, is it any minors or a certain age range? It's honestly not a unique policy, other countries that are perceived as less authoritarian than China have had similar laws in the past.

Honestly, I think anyone who really wants to bypass it will do so. See: anyone in China who wants to VPN past other content restrictions does exactly that. I am not sure how much it will actually accomplish, kids tend to be the most savvy at bypassing these kinds of restrictions.

In China, the state dictates a major part of your life, where you live, when you marry, how many children you have , what you eat, read……

I...what? They don't dictate almost any of those things. The one [or more commonly two] child limit, but that isn't even in place for a long time now.

This country sucks!

Limiting kids gaming time is the parents job, not the State.

And if if you thought this story was bad, it goes to 11

According to the SCMP, Beijing abruptly blacklisted one of China's most popular (and wealthiest) actresses, Zhao Wei. Her entire internet presence was scrubbed for unknown reasons on Thursday evening. Her name was removed from all television series, films, short videos and promotional materials from platforms including Tencent Video, iQiyi and Youku.

I’m sure they got some help from the authoritarian censoring tech companies in the US like Google, Twitter and Facebook

Speed

How can they actually enforce this?

That would actually be the scariest thing if they could.

Typical Commie madness, Big government, controlling every single aspect of people's lives, for a supposed "greater good". Government knows best, after all.

Give me free market capitalism and democracy every day. The march of Communism in the world must be pushed back.

Kagawa prefecture has an ordinance to limit children gaming to one hour on school days, and an hour and thirty minutes on weekends and holidays, which amounts to 8 hours a week. I haven't heard much news about its efficacy or enforcement though.

How can they actually enforce this?

Fear that the punishment won't be a $50 fine, but 4 months in "re-education"? Never know there. Plus, both parents and the kids will have their "state social network" score reduced.

The march of Communism in the world must be pushed back.

Where is this march, sport?

@Fighto!

Democracy and Communism are not mutually exclusive, there always seems to be this kneejerk reaction to communism that makes people start talking about democracy and freedom. Capitalism and communism ARE mutually exclusive, but that is a different story altogether. I can't imagine many of the proletariat would grieve capitalism when it goes away.

“If you don’t stop playing that game, I will drop you off at the labor camp myself”

Chinese govt sees threat of addiction among nation’s teen gamers, sets out new restrictions on when under-18s can play online :

Seemingly stringent restriction, but to a large extent a necessary move.

Via computer abuse, youth everywhere have fast become its victims..

Be aware..

I’m sure they got some help from the authoritarian censoring tech companies in the US like Google, Twitter and Facebook

Donald Trump can’t post on Twitter but Taliban can. That is a lot of power.

I read a different article that went a little more into the 'how'. Online gaming companies will now be required by law to get ID from users to create accounts on their systems, and the gaming companies will be responsible for the time restrictions. So a VPN won't get around it, in that it's by account, not IP address. If someone could get some kind of fake ID maybe they could open another account on some gaming systems, so they could play longer, but not under the same account.

I was surprised to find out, this is only an adjustment of an existing rule, not a new rule:

That limits gaming to three hours a week for most weeks of the year, down from a previous restriction set in 2019 that allowed minors play games for an hour and a half per day and three hours on public holidays.

...what? They don't dictate almost any of those things. The one [or more commonly two] child limit, but that isn't even in place for a long time now.

Obviously you have no idea about China. They do all of these things and more....

If your children became an alcoholic alike game players, playing online games 20 hours a day,they became disobedience and rebellious behaviors , drop out from college...etc. You know it is too late!

This is nothing political, online games should,be monitored and controlled!

The Chinese state can moniointernet communication,,can’t it?

Kids playing too much will effect the social scores of their parents

Easy to regulate….

Interesting layers to this story. According to a Q&A with the National Press and Publication Administration's director [yes, that is their name], "the reason why a small amount of time is left open to minors is mainly because some teachers and parents report that moderate exposure to games is understandable and acceptable, especially some sports games and game forms such as programming, chess, and Go. " The administrator further explained that this all came about because "many parents have reported that some teenagers’ indulging in online games has seriously affected their normal study life and physical and mental health, and even caused a series of social problems, causing many parents to suffer unspeakably and become a pain in the hearts of the people." He also said that such game companies "must always put social benefits in the first place, actively respond to social concerns, take the initiative to assume social responsibilities, and resolutely implement the requirements of anti-addiction work." (https://news.sina.com.cn/c/xl/2021-08-30/doc-iktzqtyt3033416.shtml).

You can't make this stuff up.

This would dent China's lead in MOBA tournaments, lol

I’m sure they got some help from the authoritarian censoring tech companies in the US like Google, Twitter and Facebook

Those are all banned in China - why would they be involved

Nothing new here, Many parents have long been complaining about the amount of time their kids spend playing online games, or socializing on their smart phones, it is a "PANDEMIC " in itself. some kids are discipline but most can't stop, and for those it become the duty of someone to tackle the problem, in some cases it's the school, or the elder brothers and sisters, and in many countries it's the government job to regulate and manage such problems.

This is nothing political, online games should,be monitored and controlled!

By the parents, not the govt. It is called "parenting." There is nothing that the CCP-Govt doesn't think is in there area of responsibility. Any personal choices by adults are free for regulation. No limits.

Ineffective parenting is the issue in China, if parents don't have control over their children. Lots of places have this same issue.

I'm not saying that parents shouldn't have a way to limit gaming or access to computers for their children. It may seem a subtle difference, but when the parent does it - that's good. When the state mandates it, that is bad.

In China, the state dictates a major part of your life, where you live, when you marry, how many children you have , what you eat, read

..what? They don't dictate almost any of those things. The one [or more commonly two] child limit, but that isn't even in place for a long time now.

Oh yes they do. Find out what the Hukou system is. You can only legally live where the state permits you to. If you live somewhere else you are not permitted to access any public services of any kind and your children are barred from local schools. Without a Hukou you cannot even get a drivers license, buy a car or scooter or get insurance because you cannot legally buy a vehicle or get it insured with that drivers license in hand, and getting the license requires a Hukou. The state can also take your home at any time and forcibly move you elsewhere in the country. My family has direct hands on experience with this. A party cadre still lives in the family home and it took over a decade for momma to gain permission to move back to the city she was removed from, to get that Hukou she needed to get an apartment. It took a few years more for my wife to get a Hukou to move back near her mother. The state strictly regulates what is available in terms of reading material. Aside from epic internet censorship the press is uniformly state controlled propaganda, as are TV stations. Reading material in libraries is likewise heavily censored. The CCP is now on a roll erasing all mention of media personalities and movie stars who have crossed the CCP in any way. Their mention and their films have vanished from the public realm.

How can they actually enforce this?

One has to log in to a gaming website to play. The gaming sites will restrict the time logged on. Not sure how one site knows how many hours a kid was logged on to another site though.

Of course if adults subscribed to the game sites under their own name and logged on then let their kids play, it will be tougher for the state to enforce. I can honestly see parents doing that.

Not sure how one site knows how many hours a kid was logged on to another site though.

They don't need to. Kids can play as much as they want on any site they want, during the approved hours:

Minors in China can only play games between 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Fridays, weekends and on public holidays starting Sept. 1, according to a notice from the National Press and Publication Administration.

The approved hours are only one hour though. So they just have to block kids from playing the rest of the time.

Amusingly, there is probably already at least a half-dozen ways to circumvent the limit. Kids these days are more tech savvy then the people creating these rules.

This is how they end the vices of video games zombies, drug addiction and lazy youth, things that the West suffers a lot..

Don't forget TV - they should ban that too!

This country sucks!

For sure! as do the people who think that what China is doing is good!