BEIJING (AP) — China is banning children from playing online games for more than three hours a week, the harshest restriction so far on the game industry as Chinese regulators continue cracking down on the technology sector.
Regulators announced that minors in China can only play games between 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Fridays, weekends, and on public holidays starting Sept. 1.
The new rules by China’s National Press and Publication Administration, which were published Monday, are geared to affect the country's biggest gaming companies, including Tencent.
According to a translation of the new rules, the companies won't be allowed to provide game services to users who have not registered with or logged in in any form.
That limits gaming to three hours a week for most weeks of the year, down from a previous restriction set in 2019 that allowed minors to play games for an hour and a half per day and three hours on public holidays.
The restriction is part of an ongoing crackdown on technology companies amid concerns that they may have an outsized influence on society.