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Chinese gaming giant Tencent expands anti-addiction system for minors to WeChat mini games
- Users logging onto mini games in WeChat will now have to verify their real names and identities against police databases
- Minors under the age of 18 will face restrictions on their playing time and in-game expenditure, as well as parental controls
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Chinese gaming giant Tencent Holdings has expanded its anti-addiction measures for minors to mini games on its multipurpose app WeChat as it continues to come under pressure from authorities to implement tighter controls.
The Shenzhen-based conglomerate has integrated mini games – which run within the ubiquitous WeChat without users having to download them separately – with its gaming “health system”, it announced in a statement posted on WeChat on Tuesday.
As the largest gaming company in China and the world by revenue, Tencent has come under particular scrutiny from Chinese regulators, who have criticised the unhealthy impact of excessive playing of video games on the young and pushed hard for stricter measures to control the issue in recent years.
Despite efforts to verify minors’ identities including checking their national ID numbers and facial recognition, Tencent games were among those that failed to adequately limit access to underage gamers, a report from the China Consumer Association found in May last year.
The issue has been seen by analysts as a headwind for the company, limiting potential profitability and exposing the company to further regulatory scrutiny by Beijing.
Under the new measures, users of WeChat mini games will be required to verify their real names and identities against police databases, allowing the company to identify users who are minors and apply restrictions to their playing time and in-game spending, Tencent said in the Tuesday statement.
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