Screentime
Tencent Uses Facial Recognition to Ban Kids Gaming Past Bedtime
- New rules comply with CCP regulations to curb game addiction
- Latest program could raise alarms for privacy advocates
Photographer: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images
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In the latest bid to curb video-game addiction in China, tech giant Tencent Holdings Ltd. has launched a facial recognition system to stop minors gaming into the night. The initiative will prevent people under 18 from playing between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m.
The system, dubbed Midnight Patrol, is in place in more than 60 of Tencent’s games and includes popular titles like “Honor of Kings” and “Peacekeeper Elite,” the company said in a press release Tuesday.