China Forms New Body To Review Ethics Risks of Video Games (scmp.com)

China has established a new body that reviews ethical issues in video gaming, marking the country's latest attempt to tighten control over the world's biggest games market. From a report: The recently formed Online Games Ethics Committee has so far evaluated an initial batch of 20 video game titles, according to a report on Friday from state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV). This was the first time the committee's existence was made public. Without elaborating, the CCTV report said the ethics committee rejected nine games for publication in the domestic market, while ruling that certain content be modified in the 11 other games that were reviewed.

The report neither revealed which government department the ethics committee was directly under nor identified the 20 games that the body processed. The creation of the Online Games Ethics Committee has come amid concerns over internet addiction, childhood myopia and unsuitable content in China's US$38 billion video games market, which has led Beijing to tighten its control over the industry and freeze the approval of new titles this year.

Comments

Re:Just apply the VW cheat code...

[mermeid007]

Games that were deemed ethical even with extreme violence included a little-used DirectX title and a little-known GNU-based game. Both were RTS games. I just made that up. Sounded right.

Re: first

[mermeid007]

What glass houses?

Welcome to Socialist Communist Governance

[Tulsa_Time]

Not what the public school unions taught you ?

Re:Welcome to Socialist Communist Governance

[Anonymous Coward]

You just described Apple products.

Re:Welcome to Socialist Communist Governance

[Anonymous Coward]

They're a totalitarian single party entho-oligarchy.. but the rest of that is correct.

Re:Welcome to Socialist Communist Governance

[Nidi62]

Not what the public school unions taught you ?

No, but this kind of thing is Jack Thompson's wet dream. Authoritarians are going to be authoritarian no matter what their motivation.

Re:Welcome to Socialist Communist Governance

[Rick Schumann]

Can't allow any games that (shocking!!!) encourage anyone to be a free thinker, now can we? Has to promote communist Party 'values' and philosophy, keep that nasty 'ol Western thinking out of people's heads!

Re:first

[_Sharp'r_]

"Ethical issues"?

Are the article writers afraid to say "government censorship" because they're worried about getting their press credentials pulled and being thrown into prison now that Hong Kong has been turned over to the Communist oligarchy?

Better to review the ethics of

[HotNeedleOfInquiry]

CRSPR gene editing in humans.

Re:Better to review the ethics of

[Actually, I do RTFA]

They already smacked that scientist doing CRSPR to a baby down pretty hard. It seems to have been a clear signal.

Violent Video Games Parody Video

[WaxParadigm]

Seems somewhat appropriate:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

What's that sound?

[Noishkel]

So you're telling me a nation that has a well documented history of being possible one of the, if not the biggest, abuser of human rights is going to tell us about the 'ethics risk' of video game. China; a nation that to this day is known to execute political prisoners and religious minorities and sell their organs on the black market is unironically going to talk about ethics?

What's the sound? It's the sound of a million pots screaming toward the kettle factory at mach speed.

Re:What's that sound?

[Anonymous Coward]

"Ethics" as defined by the Chinese government.

Re:What's that sound?

[AmiMoJo]

While China is one of the worst the same argument can be made about many countries. The US and UK both murder people without any due process, yet also pontificate on human rights issues. The UK is a surveillance state but feels able to lecture others on freedom.

For China though this is actually a very positive and welcome development. In the west we have loot box gambling and highly addictive "free to play" games that constantly encourage you to spend money on them. We are starting to address the problem and so is China, although China typically acts a lot more quickly and strongly e.g. by simply banning such games from being played by children.

Re:What's that sound?

[Nidi62]

Were these atheists raised under a Western culture, where they believed that these rights were "God given" rights, and therefore universal? "God given" isn't just an expression. When these rights were being philosophically debated as universal, being atheist would have had you burnt at the stake. There was no such thing as cultural relativism at that time. There was either the truth represented by God, or something that was false, the devil. If something is universal, that means it represent the truth, which means that it stems from God.

This idea of universal rights, pretty much came from the west, and the US and much of the west until maybe the Trump were basically trying to force these rights on other cultures. It was almost like a political crusade to change the world.

"God given" was a turn of phrase meaning "natural" and inherent. It's not something that was granted, it was something that you always had. The men who wrote the Constitution were deists which means that, while they believe a god existed and created this world, beyond that he didn't have much control. Many deists, especially the more hard core ones, were actually accused of being atheists themselves.

Re:What's that sound?

[drinkypoo]

While China is one of the worst the same argument can be made about many countries. The US and UK both murder people without any due process, yet also pontificate on human rights issues.

China is the only one of those nations that will execute people for cheating on their taxes, break them up for parts, and sell the organs to the highest bidder. And that's what they do to their citizens. Next, shall we talk about Tibet? There can be no reasonable question whether China is the worst abuser of human rights on the planet. They make us look like girl scouts. They make Russia look like an also-ran.

Re:What's that sound?

[drinkypoo]

Yes, you are right. But what is the point of saying that? Does it make their efforts to curb the worst behaviour of video game companies any less worthy?

Yes. It's hypocritical bullshit and they deserve zero praise.

Re:What's that sound?

[AmiMoJo]

That sounds like you think that "China" is one single entity with a single mind guiding every aspect of its behaviour, and that no individual parts can be good or well intentioned without being hypocritical.

What amount of influence do you think the people looking at companies selling gambling services to kids have over arrests of political dissidents, for example?

Re:What's that sound?

[ljw1004]

So you're telling me a nation that has a well documented history of being possible one of the, if not the biggest, abuser of human rights is going to tell us about the 'ethics risk' of video game. China; a nation that to this day is known to execute political prisoners and religious minorities and sell their organs on the black market is unironically going to talk about ethics?

I think there's a huge gulf in word use. In China, I get the impression they're concerned about harmonious social development - what they do to prisoners and ethnic/religious minorities is to that end, and what they want for video games is about that end. I suspect the very word "ethics" itself in this context should be translated as "how people and behavior should regulate themselves and be regulated to further harmonious social development". In that sense there's no contradiction.

lets get this straight..

[Anonymous Coward]

the state (i.e. government run) broadcaster finally revealed the secret formation and existence of a government entity whose sole purpose is to censor or outright reject video games for the domestic prc market based on ETHICS, all while providing no actual details about this "committee"....

sounds about right. welcome to the "peoples republic (haha) of china"

Re:In their defense.

[Texmaize]

So far, all the "above" posters were commenting on China and human rights and other such issues. There were no pejoratives, beyond the ones you used. Self loathing is one of the saddest mental disorders. I feel so bad for you that you hate yourself and your culture so much, that you jump at imaginary SJW hobgoblins.

New Game

[gtall]

Gov. Lacky: Wang, there's a new game called RAP, could you please look into it?

Wang: (dutifully does his duty) Boss Lacky, RAP is will lead impressionable youngsters into untold acts of perfidy.

BL: Yes, but is there anything wrong with it?

Wang: Dunno, I thought perfidy was fairly wrong.

BL: Small potatoes, Wang...by the way, what does RAP stand for, some sort of rap karaoke game, figures the Japanese would be behind it?

Wang: Nope, it stands for Rage Against the Party.

BL: Wang, please issue a new edict, "Due to the immoral values promoted by the game RAP, it will be taken off the market and anyone caught playing it will submit to some gentle re-integration into proper society." And Wang, make sure the cattle prods are set to Bowel Evacuating High.

Re:first

[AmiMoJo]

No, they mean ethical issues such as making free games pay-to-win and highly addictive, or getting kids to gamble on loot boxes. You know, the same shit we are trying to deal with.

China does censor games, but that's not what this is about.

Re:In their defense.

[PeeAitchPee]

So how many Social Credit points did the Motherland award you for making this post?

Re:good

[Errol backfiring]

You realize that Chinese society is a great big computer game where the high-level players are unbeatable?

Re:Yes thats what Im talking about

[wolfheart111]

Respect for people and their cultures... especially when they look at you in admiration. Wish we had more of that here.