China is taking a new step in its attempt to reduce the time of its youth in front of the screens. After online video games, internet access is directly impacted.
Forbidden to surf the internet at night in China ! This measure, announced by the government on Wednesday August 2, 2023, must concern young Chinese under the age of 18. It should come into force in September, after a public consultation.
Forbidden to surf the internet at night in China ! This measure, announced by the government on Wednesday August 2, 2023, must concern young Chinese under the age of 18. It should come into force in September, after a public consultation.
Thanks to a “minor” mode that the government wants to make compulsory on all smartphones, Internet access will be closed to them from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. During the day, children under 8 will only have the right to forty minutes a day, 8-16 year olds one hour and 16-17 year olds, two hours. But parents can decide to deactivate this mode if they wish.
Drastic measures, which aim to reduce the screen time of young Chinese plagued by myopia and addiction.
The video game sector impacted
These measures have consequences for the video game sector. On the day of the announcement, the action of Tencent (company of video games, messaging and online payment) lost 3.80% and that of Baidu (search engine, artificial intelligence), 4.24%.
Forbidden to surf the internet at night in China ! This measure, announced by the government on Wednesday August 2, 2023, must concern young Chinese under the age of 18. It should come into force in September, after a public consultation.
Thanks to a “minor” mode that the government wants to make compulsory on all smartphones, Internet access will be closed to them from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. During the day, children under 8 will only have the right to forty minutes a day, 8-16 year olds one hour and 16-17 year olds, two hours. But parents can decide to deactivate this mode if they wish.
Drastic measures, which aim to reduce the screen time of young Chinese plagued by myopia and addiction.
The video game sector impacted
These measures have consequences for the video game sector. On the day of the announcement, the action of Tencent (company of video games, messaging and online payment) lost 3.80% and that of Baidu (search engine, artificial intelligence), 4.24%.
China is not at its first attempt. In 2021, the government had already decided that minors could only play online video games on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m., i.e. 3 hours a week. During the holidays, young Chinese are allowed one hour daily and a total of 26 hours during the summer (July 1 to August 31). Since 2017, players must authenticate with their ID card or mobile number. A system that allows you to control their age and the time they spend on games. Largely helped by artificial intelligences which work continuously on this surveillance.
