Tencent Games is now starting to implement stricter rules for online content that involves any of its products.
According to a report from Esports Observer, the new regulations it has created will be applied across all streaming platforms, not just with the platforms Tencent Games is directly involved with.
This prohibits discussions or behaviour that could cause offense to the company’s home market of China. Tencent stated that these changes are meant to fall in line with the new internet governance requirements introduced by the Chinese government as of two weeks ago.
Tencent will now be actively watching streams online for anything that might include the following offenses:
- Content that incites any negative social influence
- Violating the copyright of any other creators or publishers
- Breaching a contract with a third party
- Sharing public information about others online without their consent.
- Inciting or demonstrating bloody or gratuitous violence in a real-world setting
- Hacking, targeting private servers to troll, or cheating in games
- Creators claiming to falsely represent Tencent in order to share misinformation
- Sharing illegal information, including pornography, terrorism or cults
- Violating basic law or sensitive topics including nationality, politics or religion
- Acting in a way that will damage Tencent's brand image
Contract punishment
In addition to all of this, the new policy also includes a rule about violating contracts. The punishment or consequences for any streamer violating the rules isn't known at this point, but given the harshness of the rules themselves that could be severe.
“There is a natural copyright relationship between gaming contents and live streaming platforms. Tencent, as a gaming streaming platform leader and game publisher, has the responsibility to promote the standardisation and authorisation of streaming contents in the industry," Tencent said in a statement.
China has been doubling down on video games and game-related activity of late. This is mainly due to concerns of addiction to online gaming to the rise of myopia.
Tencent has been modifying its titles and its approach to business to address some of these concerns in the country. Some of the changes coming from China have included player ID checks, where the government would cross reference information on a person to any police records on file.
The country also revealed last year that it will start trying to implement facial recognition in some applications online to identify the age of players to promote a “healthy gaming” system. China plans on rolling out these changes over the next few years.
