Chinese gaming firms announced self-regulation statement amid nationwide anti-ad...

Chinese gaming firms announced self-regulation statement amid nationwide anti-addiction campaign- PingWest

Chinese gaming firms announced self-regulation statement amid nationwide anti-addiction campaign

September 24, 2021 8:25 pm

China Game Industry Group Committee, or CGIGC, an official Chinese supervision association under National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA), published a statement on game addiction prevention on its WeChat account today. 

Signed by 213 companies, including notable names like Tencent and NetEase, the statement said it aimed to "build collaboratively a clear online gaming ecology".

Details:

According to the statement, gaming firms should "fully recognize the importance and urgency to tackle gaming addiction". 

Besides, they should put real-name verification systems in place and limit minors' time and money in-game.

The statement also said that bypassing the official regulation and providing services through overseas platforms are forbidden, which caused some Chinese video game users to wonder on Twitter-like Weibo whether this will bring them some unexpected influence.

Context：

The statement was a follow-up after last month NPPA announced anti-addiction rules in the gaming industry. The rules enforced time limits for under-18s, forbidding them from playing video games for more than three hours a week — they can play from 8 to 21 on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

This month, the Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party also suggested targeted measures to rectify irregularities in the entertainment industry.

Tencent, NetEase, and others were jointly summoned earlier by regulators to be reminded of restricting playtime for minors, China's Xinhua News Agency reported.

Last week, NPPA launched a website named "reporting platform for gaming companies implementation of anti-addiction regulations", dedicated to further monitoring the campaign's misbehavior.

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