Tencent Begins Using Facial Recognition Tech to Ban Kids from Gaming into the Night

Tencent launched a new program earlier this month dubbed 'Midnight Patrol' which uses facial recognition technology to stop kids in China from gaming between 10pm - 8am. China has long has strict rules surrounding gaming for minors, but kids would frequently circumvent these restrictions by using their parent's identities to log into devices. This tactic won't work any longer as devices will be able to scan player's faces regularly to ensure compliance.

“Anyone who refuses or fails face verification will be treated as a minor, included in the anti-addiction supervision of Tencent’s game health system and kicked offline...” -Tencent

While this sounds dystopian, China isn't the only country trying to crack down on gaming addiction in minors. South Korea restricts access to online games between midnight and 6am for those under the age of 16, though their enforcement mechanisms are much easier to circumvent, as they don't yet employ any kind of facial recognition.

Stopping kids from gaming too much isn't an initiative Tencent is pushing for on its own. They're simply following the rules and regulations the Chinese government issued in 2019. These rules only apply to those under the age of 18 and 'Midnight Patrol' is currently in place already in Tencent's most popular mobile games in China including PUBG Mobile and Honor of Kings (known as Arena of Valor outside China).

None of these rules apply to any Tencent product outside of China, but if other countries begin cracking down on gaming, it wouldn't be surprising to see similar regulations in the future.

Further Reading: Official Announcement (Chinese)