In a move to combat what they see as a growing problem with teenage addiction to online gaming, China is dictating that Internet gaming companies and ISPs install ‘anti-addiction’ software. This software would dictate how many virtual points they get in their games based on how long they’ve been online. After 3 hours, gamers will receive only half the points that they would normally get. After 5 hours, they get no points. These new rules which will go into effect April 15 only apply to gamers under the age of 18.
Stats indicate that China has about 137 million online users, of which 31 million are Internet gamers.