In a relief to games in South Korea, the country is planning to end its shutdown law aka Cinderella Law that prevents gamers under the age of 16 years from gaming between midnight and 6 AM. The development comes after about 10 years of the law getting into effect.
The law was first introduced in the year 2011 as a way to prevent gaming addiction. South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, as well as the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, says that they’re ending the law to respect children’s rights and encourage at-home education. The country has also said that it aims to abolish the law by the end of the year when it revises its Youth Protection Act.
It’s noteworthy that underage gamers will still be under restriction but instead of the government, it will be imposed by the parents or guardians. Excessive gaming will be managed by the country’s “choice permit” system, which lets parents and guardians arrange approved playtime.
The shutdown law in South Korea was meant for PC gaming but also gaming consoles also got affected as PlayStation Network and Xbox Live ended up restricting accounts to adults.
South Korea isn’t the only country with restrictions when it comes to underage gaming. China has one of the stringent laws that ban players under the age of 18 from playing games between 10 PM and 8 AM. Additionally, they are limited to 90 minutes of playtime during weekdays and three hours during weekends.
