Vietnam Places Country-Wide Curfew on Online Gaming

Vietnam is to introduced a gaming curfew which will block access to online games from 10PM until 8AM every day.

The English-language Viet Nam News says the country’s Ministry of Information and Communication has asked service providers to block access in order to curb the effects of online gaming, especially addiction. The curfew comes into force on March 3rd.

“Provincial departments of information and communication will inspect on-line games activities nationwide and deal with organisations that violate regulations by cancelling their services,” said the ministry’s Deputy Minister Le Nam Thang.

This is not the first time the Vietnamese government has took action against online gaming, however. Last July the government introduced a ban on advertising for games and internet cafes had already had their internet cut off during the evening.

A rise in crime and truancy among young people as well as games’ apparent violent and pornographic content were the reason for the ban, claimed the government. This curfew is only seen as a temporary measure, with further, more permanent changes set to come this year.

In reaction to the most recent curfew, internet providers VTC Intercom and Asiasoft said that the measure would block entertainment access to adults who pay a significant amount for internet access. There are around 23 million internet users in Vietnam.

via: BeefJack