China’s highest court supports refund for kids’ excessive spending on games, live-streaming apps
- The directive from the Supreme People’s Court comes amid the growing number of disputes over money spent by minors on these platforms
- It adds more teeth to the recent anti-addiction guidelines for minors issued by the State Administration of Press and Publications last year
China’s court system is expected to support refund claims by parents and guardians against online gaming and live-streaming platforms, which receive excessive payments from underage users, according to local media.
That guidance was issued on Tuesday by the Supreme People’s Court, the country’s highest appellate forum, in response to the growing number of disputes over children who have spent large amounts of money on these platforms, according to a report by state-owned broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV).
It covers cases in which a person with limited capacity for civil conduct participates in paid gaming online or webcast platform activities without the consent of their legal guardian, particularly when the person spends an “inappropriate” sum of money to make in-game purchases or online tips, the CCTV report said.
A teenage girl tipped live streaming hosts US$73,000
The SAAP guidelines introduced a stricter real-name registration system and, for the first time, an age rating system. It also limits the allowed time minors can play games to between 8am and 10pm, with no more than 1.5 hours each day – or three hours on holidays – and no more than 400 yuan (US$57) to be spent each month on in-game purchases.
