China seeks parental control over kids’ online gaming

BEIJING - In an effort to curb internet addiction, online game operators in China have been asked to provide parents with a tool to monitor their children while using internet.

A statement issued Monday by the ministry of culture and eight other central government departments said they have ordered the implementation of the Parents’ Guardian Project for Minors Playing Online Games from March 1, the China Daily reported.

Under the plan, as long as parents prove their identity as guardians and the gaming account of their children, the game operators should follow the parents’ request to restrict their young children’s online game-playing, including setting a limit on the daily or weekly playing time or imposing a total ban.

The operators must also regularly monitor the game account and help parents to prohibit or restrict the inappropriate playing of online games, the statement said.

The government instructions suggested a school student play online games for less than two hours every week and spend no more than 10 yuan ($1.5) on playing online games every month.

According to statistics from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the number of teenage internet addicts in China has risen to 33 million.

The country has around 200,000 internet cafes.

According to Macao Daily News, 457 million Chinese netizens are now sharing 250 million IP addresses, which means many of them use Internet cafes.

The General Administration of Press and Publication said that the country’s online game industry’s annual sales have reached 32.4 billion yuan last year, a year-on-year increase of 26.3 percent.