Games restrictions in China: the state as a spoiler

In the future, China will allow minors to play only three hours a week. The procedure must be controlled by strict laws.

Soon it ends: gamble anytime and for how long you want – like here in an Internet cafe in Beijing in August Photo: Florence Law/Reuters

Beijing taz | You can really feel sorry for the young people in China at the moment: they are also more and more constrained by the spoiler of the state. Now games are taken from them as well. Because according to a regulation published on Monday, teenagers should be allowed to gamble online for only three hours a week, that is, from Friday to Sunday from eight to nine in the evening.

The procedure is subject to strict laws: each player must register with a real name and ID number. Some developers have also integrated facial recognition software into their products so that no one can secretly use someone else’s account.

In a statement issued by Xinhua, she said the government wants to “protect the physical and mental health of young people”. One thing is clear: smartphone games in particular are quickly addictive to their algorithms, and in some cases they can also disrupt the lives of young people. But what is actually the task of parents and the social environment is again being taken over on a large scale by the government in China: Party cadres in Beijing increasingly see themselves as the moral authority for educating young people.

“Xi Jinping Thought Doctrine”

In recent weeks, for example, the government has not only banned the commercial teaching sector for students, but has also introduced mandatory lessons on “Xi Jinping Thought Theory” and banned most foreign textbooks from classrooms.

The government also wants to ensure that young people do not allow themselves to be seduced by “false” idols in their spare time: in regulating an “excessive” fan culture, the authorities have simply deleted a number of pop star appearances on the Internet. A politically sensitive topic, his career ended in China.

Even if something should speak in favor of certain measures in theory, it is problematic in implementation: because in a one-party state there is no public discourse about the values ​​that the government should impart to its youth. In addition, many issues of upbringing are ultimately a matter of parents and not all of them can be resolved by government bans.