Tencent Will Use Facial Recognition To Ensure Kids Don’t Play Past Curfew

For many, playing games when they want, wherever they want isn’t really an issue. However, in China, to help curb addiction, the country actually has a law that puts a curfew on gaming for those who are aged under 18. There have been several ways that this has been enforced, but it seems that Tencent is now adding facial recognition to that list.

According to industry analyst Daniel Ahmad, whose company Niko Partners sometimes works with Tencent, “It will essentially detect if the person playing the game after midnight is doing so for a long time or spending a certain amount of money in the game, and it will tick a box in Tencent’s backend and prompt the user to verify their identity through facial recognition, either through that database or through a database they’ve already used.”

The company claims that they do not store the scans that they use. Instead, it sounds like it tries to match the gamer to China’s own state facial recognition system. Prior to this, Tencent has been verifying the age of users through China’s national ID system, but apparently some gamers have been crafty enough to get around the system by using their parents’ accounts.

For those concerned about privacy, it seems that users can opt not to have their faces scanned. For example, if a player is detected playing games after curfew, they will be prompted for a facial scan. They can refuse to do so if they wish, but then the system will simply assume they’re a minor and boot them off.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Gaming
Tags: China, Privacy, tencent