Photo: AFP
China has decided to tighten its code of conduct on online games. Under the new guidelines, children under the age of 18 will now be able to play games only 3 hours a week. The gaming industry in China earned about ً 20 billion in the first quarter of this year.
foreigner media The National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA) said in a notification that children under the age of 18 can play games between 8pm and 9pm on Friday evening and late Saturday.
According to the new guidelines of the video game regulatory body in China, playing video games for more than one hour at a time on a public holiday will not be allowed.
Earlier, the code of conduct allowed children up to the age of 18 to play video games for 90 minutes a day.
China’s ruling Communist Party has been concerned about the negative effects of video and online games on young people’s health.
Online video games are a market like any other in the world, with millions of young people connected, and China’s new guidelines are being hailed as a major blow to the gaming industry.
According to the Audio-Video and Digital Publishing Association of China, the industry generated about ً 20 billion in revenue in the first quarter of this year.
Officials have called these online video games “spiritual opium” and said that children are becoming addicted to it, which also has a detrimental effect on their health.
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