China's multinational technology conglomerate holding company Tencent Holdings Ltd. (Tencent) has rolled out yet another astute technological innovation. This time around, it is to identify underage children posing as adults to get around government-enforced curfew.

In 2019, the Chinese government imposed a ban for those below 18 from playing online games between 10 pm and 8 am to curb video game addiction among the youth. The time and money minors spend on gaming are also restricted. (Source: BBC)

As China becomes one of the world's largest gaming markets, more and more concerns have been raised on how video games negatively affect the well being of young people in the nation. Despite the countrywide gaming regulations, savvy teen gamers still found ways to evade the restrictions by using gaming accounts registered by adults. 

As a way to close the loopholes, tech giant Tencent rolled out the facial recognition function, dubbed "Midnight Patrol", adding another layer of verification to root out minors playing games past the curfew.

It is reported that the company will deploy the new time-sensitive facial recognition system starting with about 60 mobile games, including the popular multiplayer battle game - "Honor of Kings", which has over 100 million users daily. (Source: The Straits Times)

Image source via CGTN

The "Midnight Patrol" security function will also require users to pass a facial recognition test to change security settings to prevent children from modifying it through their parents' phones. Those who refuse or fail the facial verification will be denied access. Should underage gamers exceed the time limit, the game will be interrupted by a prompt to scan the player's face.

Mobile video games have been widely criticised as the culprit behind online addiction and nearsightedness in children in China since 2017. (Reference: CGTN) This harsher restriction aims to keep the excessive gaming culture under control. 

There is an urgent need for parents to monitor and limit their children's game usage. Gaming addiction or gaming disorder was listed as a mental health condition by the World Health Organization in 2018.

Read more on ways you can Guide Your Child To The Right Choices Online