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. 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 play games for an hour and a half per day and three hours on public holidays. Children will be banned from playing mobile games for more than three hours a week under tough new regulations in China (file image)Tencent's stock price closed down 0.6 per cent on Monday ahead of the regulator's announcement. The gaming restrictions are part of an ongoing crackdown on technology companies, amid concerns that technology firms - many of which provide ubiquitous messaging, payments and gaming services - may have an outsized influence on society. The company issued the curbs hours after a state-affiliated newspaper criticized the gaming industry and called games 'spiritual opium.'

Source: Daily Mail August 30, 2021 14:48 UTC