The overhead "anti-addiction" system, the generation training APP "generation training gang" was stopped

The "Notice on Further Strict Management and Effectively Preventing Minors from Addicting to Online Games" strictly limits the time available to minors for providing online game services

On August 30, 2021, at the request of the State Press and Publication Administration, the online game "the strictest anti-addiction in history" system was launched. Thereafter, accounts with real-name authentication as minors can only enter the game from 20:00 to 21:00 on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and statutory holidays.

On January 5, 2022, a reporter from Beijing Youth Daily learned from the Shanghai Pudong New Area People's Court that a pre-litigation behavior preservation ruling made by the court showed that the generation training platform provided a "shortcut" for players to quickly ascend the ascending stage, so that the "minors anti-addiction" system was bypassed. The court ordered the "Substitute Training Gang" APP involved to immediately stop the minors practicing the "Glory of the King" game. The case is the first in china to impose a ban on game training platforms based on the protection of minors.

case

Generation training APP "Generation Training Help"

Overhead "minors anti-addiction" system

In this case, the applicants, Tencent Technology (Chengdu) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Tencent Chengdu Company) and Shenzhen Tencent Computer System Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Shenzhen Tencent Company), claimed that Tencent Chengdu Company was the copyright holder of the game "Glory of the King" and authorized Shenzhen Tencent to operate the game exclusively.

The game has a fair matching mechanism, according to the account's game behavior data, to help users match opponents with the same level of competition to form a game team or fight, so that users of similar levels can effectively participate in the game.

At the same time, in order to implement the requirements for the protection of minors, the game strictly adopts the real-name system and is equipped with complete "anti-addiction" measures, and minors can only play the game from 20:00 to 21:00 every day on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and statutory holidays stipulated by the State Press and Publication Administration. The two applicants also used the relevant game service agreements to require game users not to provide game accounts to others for commercial use such as training and playing on behalf of others.

The two applicants found that the "Daishen Gang" APP operated by Beisheng Company lured and encouraged users, including minors, to commercialize and scale the "Glory of Kings" game training transactions through its platform in the form of "issuing orders and returning cash" and setting up a "Glory of kings" special area, and encouraged users to log in to the applicant's online games with a non-real identity, resulting in inconsistencies between the actual users of the online game services and the registered identity information of the account. In particular, through the "Substitute Training Gang" APP, the order taker can obtain the account and password of others' "Glory of the King" game on the "Substitute Training Gang" platform with a non-real identity, so that minors can bypass the anti-addiction system, and the game duration and time period are not limited.

The applicant believes that this act puts the operation of the game at risk of being investigated and punished, and also greatly harms the public interest and should be stopped immediately. 2345 Company advertises and promotes the platform on the "2345 Mobile Assistant" it operates, and should also stop this behavior.

The two applicants submitted an application for pre-litigation conduct preservation for the behavior of the "Substitute Training Gang" APP that allowed minors to accept orders.

court

The behavior of Beisheng Company was ruined

A fair playing mechanism for the Glory of Kings game

The Shanghai Pudong Court conducted a key review of whether the application had a factual basis and legal basis, whether it would cause irreparable damage, whether it would lead to a significant imbalance of interests, and whether it would harm the societal public interest.

The court held that a series of behaviors such as allowing Beisheng Company to allow users to conduct game training transactions through its platform undermined the fair competition mechanism of the "Glory of Kings" game and harmed the consumer's game experience and legitimate interests. The company receives a share of the proceeds and uses online games in which others have competitive interests as a means of profit. This act also allows users to bypass the applicant's online game real-name system and anti-addiction system, resulting in the failure of its operation mechanism and hindering the order of online game operation. Therefore, it was determined that there was a possibility of unfair competition in the conduct of the respondent Beisheng Company.

Based on the commercialization and large-scale operation of Beisheng Company, as well as the characteristics of wide network dissemination and fast dissemination speed, if preservation measures are not taken in a timely manner, it will not only lead to the relevant public questioning the applicant's compliance operation and social responsibility, so that it is in the business risk of being investigated and punished, it will cause irreparable damage to goodwill, and will also detract from its commercial income and market share, so it is feasible and urgent to prohibit the above behavior. By taking timely conduct preservation measures against the respondent, the effective implementation of the "anti-addiction" mechanism for minors can be effectively ensured, and the public interest is actively safeguarded.

Accordingly, the Shanghai Pudong Court made the above ruling.

statute

Strictly implement online game user accounts

Real-name registration and login requirements

In this case, the "Glory of kings" game adopted an "anti-addiction" mechanism, which restricted the time and duration of minors' login, while the "Dai training gang" APP required users to provide ID card information when registering, but it allowed minors to obtain other people's game accounts to log in to the game without restriction.

In order to protect the physical and mental health of minors and allow minors to study and live normally, since June 2005, the General Administration of Press and Publication has formulated the "Standards for the Development of Online Game Anti-Addiction Systems" and the "Real-Name Authentication Scheme for Online Game Anti-Addiction Systems". In July 2007, the anti-addiction system for online games was implemented nationwide. On August 30, 2021, the State Press and Publication Administration issued the Notice on Further StrictLy Managing and Effectively Preventing Minors from Addicting to Online Games, strictly limiting the time available to minors for online game services, and strictly implementing the real-name registration and login requirements for online game user accounts.

Source: China Youth Daily