Tencent Introduces Face Recognition Feature to Prevent Children from Gaming at Night

Chinese gaming giant Tencent has introduced facial recognition feature to prevent minors from playing games at night.

The new face-based Midnight Patrol system will help enforce a Chinese law that was passed in 2019 to prevent video game addiction. The law bans minors from playing video games between the hours of 10 pm and 8 am. The ban requires gamers to register with their official IDs, linked to a national database. But children have reportedly been using adults’ IDs instead of their own.

Under the new Midnight Patrol system, players do not need to scan when they start playing, but they will be prompted to verify their identity if they are playing between 10 pm and 8 am, play for a certain amount of time or spend an excessive amount of money in the game. At that point, they will need to undergo a facial recognition scan in order to continue the game.