Recently, Mr. Liu reported to Red Star News that on December 23, he found that a total of more than 3,000 yuan of payment records suddenly appeared in his mobile phone, and the payee was Guangdong HeyTap Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as HeyTap Company), and the payment content was to buy "egg coins" (a game prop). After Mr. Liu questioned his daughter, he learned that the money was deposited into a mobile game called "Egg Boy Party" by his 8-year-old daughter when his parents were away.
Mr. Liu said that he then contacted HeyTap to express his desire for a refund, but was told by the company's customer service that since Mr. Liu's account identity was verified as an adult, and the fee was paid through a payment password, the company could not process a refund unless Mr. Liu provided more evidence to prove that the money was indeed charged by the child.
"Egg Boy Party" game recharge page
According to media reports, Mr. Liu's case is not an isolated case, and in a WeChat group called "Egg Boy Party Complaint Group", hundreds of parents said that their underage children had recharged the "Egg Boy Party" and hoped that the game party would return the money.
The Red Star News reporter learned that as of press time, new users need to enter their ID numbers and real names to register for "Egg Boy Party". If you are a minor, you will be limited in terms of time and duration. HeyTap's customer service said that for the OPPO channel service users served by the company, OPPO 8.24 and above versions need to enter their real name and ID number before scanning their faces to complete identity authentication.
Zhao Liangshan, a senior partner at Shaanxi Hengda Law Firm, believes that in practice, children often use their parents' adult identities to register and log in to games, but it is the children who actually play the games, and game companies often ask parents to provide evidence (such as surveillance videos) to prove that the games are actually played by the children, which is obviously unrealistic. He suggested that game companies activate facial recognition systems to identify whether the person who registers and logs in to the game and the person who actually plays the game is the same person. In addition, parents should also fulfill their guardianship responsibilities, take good care of their children, and take good care of their mobile phone payment passwords.
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Parents said that their children recharged more than 3,000 yuan to buy game currency
If you want a refund, you are told that you have to prove that the person who recharged the money is indeed a child
According to Mr. Liu, from December 20 to 22, he and his wife went out to run errands, and because they were afraid that their 8-year-old child would be lonely, they gave their mobile phones to play with their children. The WeChat payment records he showed reporters showed that from December 20 to December 22, Mr. Liu's account made multiple payments to Guangdong HeyTai Technology Co., Ltd., totaling 3,479 yuan. The product is "egg money", and the amount of a single payment is 6 yuan, 30 yuan, 128 yuan, 648 yuan, etc.
Mr. Liu said that after that, he contacted the beneficiary, Guangdong HeyTap Technology Co., Ltd., hoping to negotiate a refund. A customer service replied that the account involved was registered with an adult's ID number and paid with a payment password, and the company believed that this was a "real-name authentication for an adult", and the company could not refund unless Mr. Liu provided more evidence to prove that the money was indeed charged by the child. Mr. Liu asked, what kind of evidence is needed to prove that the money was charged by the child? The customer service said that parents need to find a way to find it, and this question cannot be answered clearly.
Mr. Liu felt helpless. He told reporters that previously, he had taught his children how to shop online, so the children knew the payment password of the mobile phone. As for the parent's ID number, it may be that the child found it when the adult was absent. Mr. Liu believes that the game is not rigorous enough to identify minors, and if the "face recognition" function can be added to the account registration or payment process, it may be better to prevent minors from impulsive spending.
As of press time, Mr. Liu's refund is still under negotiation.
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The game has opened a fast track for refunds for minors
Customer service said that some versions add face recognition authentication
The reporter learned that "Egg Boy Party" is a casual competitive mobile game operated by Hangzhou NetEase Leihuo Technology Co., Ltd. and published by the NetEase platform, which has social functions. According to the official website of the game, it will be officially launched on May 27, 2022.
On December 25, the reporter downloaded the "Egg Boy Party" through the Xiaomi mobile phone app store and the Apple mobile phone App Store. On the loading screen when the game is opened, the age-appropriate prompt marked in the lower left corner is 8 years old+. After entering the game's homepage, a pop-up window will show that it asks for an ID number and real name. Once the input is complete, the game will be launched.
The reporter downloaded "Egg Boy Party" on his mobile phone, and a real-name authentication prompt popped up on the game page
In the game, players can redeem virtual currency in the game by recharging cash, buy skins, cosmetics and character skills, etc. The minimum one-time recharge price is 1 yuan, and the maximum is 648 yuan. Some skin styles need to be obtained by drawing a blind box, which means that users may need to purchase a blind box multiple times to increase the chance of getting the desired item. There is a line of small print on the purchase page: "Please be entertained appropriately and consume rationally".
According to a report by Shenzhen Special Zone Daily, more than 300 parents gathered in a WeChat group called "Egg Boy Party Complaint Group", claiming that they wanted the game party to refund the money that the minors in their families had deposited into the "Egg Boy Party". The report also mentioned that if the identity is verified as a "minor", a warm reminder will pop up, showing that "underage players can only log in to the game from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays".
On December 25, the reporter called the "Egg Boy Party" customer service center, and the first problem listed by the voice assistant was "underage recharge refund". After the reporter said that he wanted to consult the question of "underage recharge refund", the voice prompt "At present, a fast channel for the refund of minors has been opened, and a text message has been sent to you about the refund method". According to the link in the text message, the reporter opened the "NetEase Game Parental Care Platform", and after describing the situation reported by Mr. Liu in detail, the platform's customer service said that parents can search for the NetEase Parental Care Platform on WeChat to apply for a refund.
On the 26th, the reporter learned from the customer service of Guangdong HeyTai Technology Co., Ltd. as a customer that Guangdong HeyTai Technology Co., Ltd. has a cooperative relationship with the "Egg Boy Party" game party, and is the payee of the game - the game logged in with the game mobile phone number downloaded by the OPPO channel service will be recharged to Guangdong HeyTai Technology Co., Ltd. In addition, versions of OPPO phones below 8.24 can complete authentication by entering your real name and ID number, without verifying your face, while versions of OPPO 8.24 and above require you to scan your face after entering your real name and ID number to complete the authentication.
Mr. Lin, a practitioner in the game industry, told Red Star News that the mobile game industry usually only does an anti-addiction system for minors, and generally does not set a limit for the recharge of underage users alone.
Regarding the suggestions of many parents to add face recognition functions in the identity authentication stage, Mr. Lin believes that this method may not be foolproof to "stop minors", "Some children want to play, and they will ask their parents, grandparents and grandparents to help them brush their faces." On the other hand, adding facial recognition verification when logging into the game, or "blitzing" facial recognition during the game, may also reduce the gaming experience for some users.
Mr. Lin believes that if parents find that their children are addicted to recharge ("krypton") mobile games, they can guide their children to contact with educational games and outdoor interactions that are conducive to thinking exercise, so that children can learn to distinguish between good and bad entertainment and leisure activities, and make healthy and upward choices.
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Lawyer's Perspective:
Gaming companies have an obligation to discourage minors from making impulsive purchases
Can parents recover a large amount of money after a minor registers an account with his parent's ID card? What are the ways in which parents can defend their rights? Does the game company have the obligation to stop minors from impulsive consumption? With these questions, the Red Star News reporter talked to the lawyer.
According to He Zhijuan, a lawyer at Beijing Han Ding Law Firm, Article 19 of the Civil Code stipulates that minors over the age of eight are persons with limited capacity for civil conduct, and shall be represented by their legal representatives or with the consent and recognition of their legal representatives in carrying out civil juristic acts;
He Zhijuan believes that minors under the age of eight are incapacitated for civil conduct, and their behavior of recharging the game is invalid, and parents can claim that the game platform return it. Minors over the age of eight are persons with limited capacity for civil conduct, and can recharge the game in small amounts within the scope of their own cognition. For example, many games set up a 6 yuan first deposit bonus, which is a reasonable range of top-ups, which is legal and valid. However, for large amounts of top-ups, they can only take effect after parental consent or retrospective recognition. If the parents do not agree or do not recognize, the act is invalid, and the parents may claim that the game platform return it. If the parent provides the corresponding evidence to prove that the recharge was made by a minor, the platform should return it.
"Egg Boy Party" game page according to ICphoto
Ho believes that game companies have an obligation to discourage minors from making impulsive purchases. Notice on Preventing Minors from Becoming Addicted to Online Games issued by the National Press and Publication Administration in 2019 It is clearly stipulated that online game enterprises shall not provide game payment services for users under the age of 8, and for game payment services provided by the same network enterprise, the single recharge amount shall be 50 yuan for minor users over the age of 8 but under 16 years, and the cumulative monthly recharge amount shall not exceed 200 yuan, and the single recharge amount shall not exceed 100 yuan for minor users over the age of 16, and the cumulative monthly recharge amount shall not exceed 400 yuan.
"In fact, these are all refinements of the provisions of the Law on the Protection of Minors on 'properly managing and protecting the property of minors, and carrying out civil juristic acts on behalf of minors in accordance with the law'. Whether from the perspective of law, or from the perspective of game companies assuming social responsibility and fulfilling their obligations to protect minors, corresponding measures should be taken to prevent minors from impulsive consumption. He Zhijuan said.
Zhao Liangshan, a senior partner at Shaanxi Hengda Law Firm and a well-known public interest lawyer, believes that game companies providing virtual currency recharge transaction services to minors may violate Article 20, Paragraph 1 of the Interim Measures for the Administration of Online Games, which stipulates that "trading services shall not be provided to minors." At the same time, in order to put an end to minors' consumption of online games, the Ministry of Culture issued the "Notice on Regulating the Operation of Online Games and Strengthening Supervision During and After the Event", requiring all game platforms to implement a real-name authentication system. Zhao Liangshan said that if the real-name authentication of the game in this incident does not really play the role of real-name authentication, the game company should also refund the game money.
As for how parents can get back the money that their children have deposited into the game, He Zhijuan suggested that if the platform does not refund the money, parents can go to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the consumer association to complain, such as the consumer complaint platform or call the 12315 hotline. If it still cannot be resolved, you can protect your legitimate rights and interests through litigation. In view of the fact that there are many similar cases, parents can contact each other and jointly find a lawyer to prosecute. However, in the specific litigation or rights protection process, parents need to prove that the game authentication and recharge behavior comes from minors, and there may be difficulties in proving in practice. He Zhijuan said.
In Zhao Liangshan's view, in practice, children often use their parents to register and log in to the game, but it is the child who actually plays the game, and the game company often asks parents to provide evidence (such as surveillance video) to prove that the game is actually played by the child, which is obviously unrealistic and undoubtedly makes it difficult for parents, because there are not many families who install monitoring at home. In fact, the child's personal statement is also evidence, as long as the child can tell how to play the game, how to buy the game equipment, what time period to recharge, etc., it can also prove that the game is played by the child.
Zhao Liangshan suggested that in order to avoid the occurrence of similar incidents and truly implement the real-name authentication system, it is recommended that game companies activate the face recognition system, so as to timely screen whether the person who registers and logs in to the game and the person who actually plays the game is the same person. At the same time, the regulatory authorities should increase supervision and punishment. Parents should also fulfill their guardianship responsibilities, take good care of their children, and take good care of their mobile phone payment passwords.
He Zhijuan also said that parents have a greater regulatory responsibility than game companies. For example, do not tell minors the payment password, guide minors to play reasonable games, etc.
Red Star News reporter Wang Yucheng
Editor: Guo Zhuang Editor: Li Binbin
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