China asks for stronger action on illegal, vulgar online games

BEIJING, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- China has recently set out on another round of action against online games with illicit conduct and inappropriate content.

Departments should carry out investigations immediately, mainly on games with large numbers of players and big social influence, according to a guideline by eight departments including the Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the Cyberspace Administration of China and the Ministry of Education.

They should handle games with prohibited content such as violence and obscenity firmly, shutting down operators without permissions, and blocking overseas games with content that breaches Chinese law.

Enterprises providing online games are to conduct self-examinations and corrections, and to reject and delete any inappropriate content.

Despite the rapid growth of online games in China and the impact on development of the Internet technology and the digital economy, a lot of online games are still low class, and some even distort history and make fun of heroes, the guideline reads.

Other major problems in the industry include addiction to online games, inducing players to pay more, and leaking personal information. Enditem