Vietnam Proposes Stricter Game Time Limits for Minors

The Department of Radio, Television and Electronic Information, under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, is soliciting feedback on amendments to Decree 147/2024 on the management and use of the internet. The proposed revisions aim to significantly shorten the daily gaming time for minors under 16 to 60 minutes, a substantial reduction from the current regulations which allow up to 180 minutes per day for those under 18. According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen, Deputy Director of the department, the new rule will not be cumulative, meaning children under 16 will be limited to a total of 60 minutes of gaming per day, regardless of how many games they play. The proposal also seeks to enhance health warning displays and introduce age-based categorization for video games. Currently, Decree 147 requires game publishers to display a warning that "playing for more than 180 minutes a day will adversely affect health." However, the old regulations lacked specificity regarding the duration and frequency of these warnings. To address this, the draft suggests that G1-rated games (for general audiences) must display health hazard warnings every 30 minutes, for at least 10 seconds each time. For G2-rated games, the warning display duration should be at least 15 seconds. The new regulations also include incentives for the domestic game industry. Games produced by Vietnamese enterprises that contain educational content or promote Vietnamese culture and history will be eligible for preferential policies. These include the possibility of trial releases before official licensing and exemptions or reductions in personal and corporate income taxes. Industry stakeholders, such as VNG Games, have acknowledged the potential benefits of the proposed regulations for the gaming sector. However, they have also put forward suggestions for adjustments. VNG Games proposed a uniform warning display time across all game genres and a shorter display duration of 5-7 seconds, down from the suggested 10-15 seconds. They also recommended synchronizing the warning content with the reduced 60-minute playtime limit for children. The drafting agency stated that the revised decree aims to create a favorable legal framework for the development of the cultural industry, with a particular focus on professionalizing and promoting the healthy growth of Vietnam's video game industry. Source: VnExpress