According to a notice from the National Press and Publication Administration, minors in China can only play games between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Fridays, weekends, and public holidays beginning Sept. 1.
As Chinese regulators continue to push down on the technology sector, China is barring children from playing online games for more than three hours each week, the strictest restriction ever on the game business.
Starting September 1, minors in China will be able to play games only between the hours of 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Fridays, weekends, and public holidays, according to a notice from the National Press and Publication Administration.
As Chinese regulators continue to push down on the technology sector, China is barring children from playing online games for more than three hours each week, the strictest restriction ever on the game business.
Starting September 1, minors in China will be able to play games only between the hours of 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Fridays, weekends, and public holidays, according to a notice from the National Press and Publication Administration.
On Monday, ahead of the regulator’s statement, Tencent’s stock price fell 0.6 percent to 465.80 Hong Kong dollars. NetEase’s market capitalization of $573 billion is down more than $300 billion from its February peak, more than the combined value of Nike Inc. and Pfizer Inc. The stock of the New York-listed company was down about 9% at market open.
The gaming limitations are part of a broader assault on technology businesses, which has raised fears that technology companies — many of which provide ubiquitous messaging, payments, and gaming services — may wield undue power over society.
Tencent announced earlier this month that it would limit youngsters’ gaming time to an hour per day during the week and two hours on weekends, as well as prohibit children under the age of 12 from making in-game purchases.
Hours after a state-affiliated daily slammed the gaming business, calling games “spiritual opium,” the corporation imposed the restrictions.
In a notification issued Monday, regulators stated that they would improve oversight and increase the frequency of inspections of online gaming enterprises to ensure that they adhere to the rules.
After years of tremendous growth in the technology sector, Chinese authorities have recently targeted e-commerce and online education, enacting new restrictions to curb anti-competitive behaviour.
Authorities banned profit-making for companies that provide coaching in core school topics last month, wiping billions of dollars from the market capitalization of online education companies including TAL Education and Gaotu Techedu.
