Tencent recently announced that the online game time restriction for minors in China would continue this summer too. That means the young gamers of China will not get much time to spend on video games during their vacation. Previously, in August 2021, the Chinese National Press and Public Administration imposed restrictions on game time for minors in China.
Gamers can play games only for a total playtime of 21 hours during their holidays
The Chinese government previously announced that children could play for only one hour a day and two hours on holiday. Tencent recently announced that it would limit people under 18 to one hour a day of game time on specific days during the holiday. Children under 12 cannot make any in-game purchases.
Tencent published a calendar in which minors can only play from 8 pm to 9 pm on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday each week, limiting them to a total playtime of 21 hours during the holiday period. The account of the minors will be locked outside the given period.
Tencent will use Midnight Patrol facial recognition system to enforce the game time restriction
In 2018, Tencent, for the first time, tested its facial recognition technology. Later, in July 2021, the company introduced the Midnight Patrol facial recognition system. Tencent will use facial recognition technology to ensure that children do not use parents’ accounts to play some extra hours in the game.
According to Chinese regulations, facial scans are mandatory for anyone opening a mobile account. Tencent will cross-check the scanned faces with China’s national database. However, adults will likely not be scanned before logging in to a game. But, Tencent might also require a facial scan for adults if they see any suspicious activity on the account to ensure that the person playing the game is not a child.
Final Thoughts
While many people from the gaming industry praised the game time limitation from the beginning, others opposed it. Excessive regulation of anything might lead to the opposite outcome from what is expected. Though it is a great initiative to restrict and control young kids from getting addicted to video games. Strict limitations like this might build up a sense of revenge in the minds of the young generation and make them break the rules out of it.
What are your thoughts as Tencent has announced to uphold the game time restriction for young gamers in China? Let us know in the comments below!
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