Anti-Addiction System for Online Games

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The Anti-Addiction System for Online Games is a system developed in accordance with the Standard for Anti-Addiction System for Online Games issued by the General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) of the People's Republic of China, which was implemented in 2007, with the aim of restricting minors to prevent them from becoming addicted to online games for a long period of time. The GAPP issued "Notice of the National Press and Publication Administration on Further Strict Management and Effective Prevention of Minors' Addiction to Online Games" in August 2021, based on General Secretary Xi Jinping's instructions on youth work. Chinese authorities have claimed that it is the most advanced and efficient anti-addiction system in the world. [1] Its strict regulations have therefore led to some controversy.

Contents

Implementation

In August 2005, the Chinese mainland government notified China's seven largest online game companies (Shanda, NetEase, The9, Guang tong, Kingsoft, Sina, Sohu, etc.) to publish the "Online Game Anti-Addiction System Development Standard" and required them to submit it. In September 2005, online game operators gradually installed online game anti-addiction systems in their products and conducted trial runs. In March 2006, the basic development work was completed, and the "Notice on Implementing an Anti-addiction System for Online Games to Protect the Physical and Mental Health of Minors" decided to implement an anti-addiction system for online games in China from 15 April 2007, and ordered its full implementation on 16 July. [2]

Principles

See People's Republic of China's real-name system for online games  [ zh ]

According to the regulations issued by the General Administration of Press and Publication of the People's Republic of China, the system will issue reminders when it monitors players' game time approaching three hours. If it exceeds three hours, the system will continuously warn the player to stop playing. At the same time, within three to five hours, the game's benefits (including experience value, treasure drop rate, honor value, reputation value, etc.) will drop to 50% of the original value, and after five hours, there will be none at all. The system also stipulates that after a player has played a full healthy game, the account must also go through a cumulative interval of five hours of offline time before it can be activated normally. [3] In Tencent games, underage players or players without real-name authentication can only play for one hour in the evening from 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm on holidays and weekends and will be forced offline by the system if they play more than this time.[ citation needed ]

Enforcement and reinforcement

Kou Xiaowei, head of the anti-addiction system at the General Administration of Press and Publication of the People's Republic of China, stated in an interview that the anti-addiction system will be implemented in all online games if it achieves good results and is fully recognized by the community after the trial run. [4]

On the other hand, the General Administration of Press and Publication has explained some of the controversy surrounding the increasingly harsh nature of the system, affirming that moderate games can improve the family atmosphere and that games are positive for the development of art and imagination, while pointing out that the responsibility for addiction lies with parents, mainly because they do not pay enough attention to their children. It is not appropriate to shirk their inadequate supervision of children by playing games. There are no restrictions on educational games and quality games. Parents can accompany the game and control the playing time [5] [6] Some news articles commented that the proportion of minors in the company's income is actually not high. They believe that this will not affect the development of the game industry but will give manufacturers something to rely on. In this strict supervision, which is known as a one-step system, they admit that some details do not achieve appropriate and precise goals.[ citation needed ]

It is believed that the classification system should be implemented next, and the goal should be to be able to unleash all efforts to produce excellent games and continue to guide and expand China's game culture [7] [8]

Loopholes and doubts

Although online game companies can require verification of the registrant's identity certificate at registration to achieve the purpose of identifying minors, minors can avoid being restricted by the anti-addiction system by stealing the identity certificate of an adult. [9] [10] [11]

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References

  1. ↑ Pu, Xiaolei (2022-06-03). "新未成年人保护法施行一周年 未成年用户网络游戏使用时长明显降低" [On the first anniversary of the implementation of the new Law on the Protection of Minors, the time spent by underage users in online games has been significantly reduced]. CCTV. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
  2. ↑ government public information (2023-05-31). "关于启动网络游戏防沉迷实名验证工作的通知" [Notice on launching real-name verification work to prevent addiction to online games]. www.nppa.gov.cn. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
  3. ↑ jiang, zhi (2006-03-24). "网游防沉迷系统运行在即，家长叫好,行家称绝" [The anti-addiction system for online games is about to be launched, parents applaud and experts praise it]. Archived from the original on 2005-12-20.
  4. ↑ shen, guangqian (2020-05-23). "网游防沉迷系统发布会专访" [Exclusive interview on online game anti-addiction system press conference]. Archived from the original on 2020-05-23. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
  5. ↑ shi, jingnan (2021-08-30). "坚决防止未成年人沉迷网络游戏——国家新闻出版署有关负责人就《关于进一步严格管理 切实防止未成年人沉迷网络游戏的通知》答记者问_政策解读_中国政府网" [Resolutely prevent minors from being addicted to online games - the relevant person in charge of the National Press and Publication Administration answered reporters' questions on the "Notice on Further Strict Management and Effectively Preventing Minors from being Addicted to Online Games"_]. www.gov.cn. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
  6. ↑ beijingsina (2021-09-01). "人民日報評論：動真格！讓青少年遠離網路遊戲沉迷-財經新聞-新浪新聞中心" [People's Daily comments: Get real! Keep teenagers away from online game addiction]. Archived from the original on 2021-09-01. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
  7. ↑ zheng, rui; wei, wei; zhou, yangyang (2021-09-03). "一周3小時網游最嚴未成年防沉迷出台-科技新聞-新浪新聞中心" [Three hours a week of online gaming is the most stringent rule to prevent minors from becoming addicted]. Archived from the original on 2021-09-03. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
  8. ↑ hu, xiu (2021-09-01). "游戏行业遭锤，小学生何以成游戏圈"公敌"？_时事-多维客" [The gaming industry has been hammered. Why have primary school students become the "public enemies" of the gaming industry?]. Archived from the original on 2021-09-01. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
  9. ↑ fa, guang (2024-03-28). "法记者：中国实施最严格的措施打击"网络成瘾"" [French reporter: China implements the most stringent measures to combat “Internet addiction”]. RFI - 法国国际广播电台 (in Simplified Chinese). Retrieved 2024-04-05.
  10. ↑ li, xin; zhao, yingyan (2016-03-04). "上有"防沉迷"政策 下有"买信息"对策"防沉迷"催热身份证信息交易" [There is an "anti-addiction" policy on the top and a "buy information" countermeasure on the bottom. The "anti-addiction" policy promotes ID card information transactions.]. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
  11. ↑ liu, xiaodong (2007-07-27). "编造身份证难逃防沉迷" [It’s hard to avoid addiction by making up ID cards]. Archived from the original on 2011-05-23. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
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