China国家新闻出版署《关于进一步严格管理 切实防止未成年人沉迷网络游戏的通知》(NPPA Notice on Further Strict Management to Effectively Prevent Minors from Becoming Addicted to Online Games)
国新出发〔2021〕14号 (Guo Xin Chu Fa [2021] No. 14)
In force since .
An age-appropriate design code rule binding private bodies.
- Age threshold
- 18
- Covered services
- Online games distributed in China
- Verification methods
- Gov ID, Digital ID
- Audit expectation
- on_request
- Who audits it
- Regulator
What it requires
- Applies to all online game service providers offering games in China.
- Offer minors no more than one hour of game time per day, and only between 20:00 and 21:00 on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays; offer no game service to minors at any other time.
- Register every online game account under a real identity linked to the National Press and Publication Administration's national anti-addiction real-name verification system, and do not allow guest-mode access.
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text.
If you get it wrong
Private right of actionNo
Penalties
Regulatory sanctions against noncompliant game operators, including rectification orders and removal from the anti-addiction real-name verification system
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA)
Settledness
The notice is issued by the National Press and Publication Administration, whose publishing authorities supervise compliance, so the notice is the enforcing body's own statement of the duty and is not also recorded as separate guidance.
- As of
- Open questions
- Does 所有网络游戏企业 ("all online game enterprises") reach an enterprise outside China whose game is available to users in China?
- Does 以任何形式（含游客体验模式） ("in any form, including guest experience mode") bar a no-login trial of a game before real-name registration?
What it makes you log
Logging duty
The notice caps minors' game time, requires every game to connect to the national anti-addiction real-name verification system and bars service to users who have not registered and logged in under a real identity. It requires no log or record of the check or of play time and sets no retention rule; the verification record sits in the state system, not with the operator, so it is not an operator duty on this text.
- Kind
- None
- As of
What this law does
Limits all online game service providers to offering minors no more than one hour of game time per day, only between 20:00 and 21:00 on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, with no game service to minors at any other time. Requires every online game account to be registered under a real identity linked to the National Press and Publication Administration's national anti-addiction real-name verification system, and bans guest-mode access.
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app serves under-18s.
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