China is trying to find any way possible to control their citizens. The country plans to fully implement an Orwellian "Social Credit System" that was the influence for the Black Mirror episode "Nosedive." Residents in China are punished if they behave badly, in a way that affects them much like the credit system controls us here in the US. Their system is absurd though. Chinese residents can be punished for things like playing video games for too much time, smoking in non-smoking areas, being drunk and disorderly, not paying bills on time, refusing military service, or posting fake news on the internet. The consequences for such actions range from travel bans, slower internet speeds for your household, being prohibited from going to good schools and attaining good jobs, and more. They can even take away your dog! Although the system isn't fully in place yet, many of these examples have been implemented in the country.
As if that wasn't controlling enough, the Chinese government decided to form a committee to help regulate video games. It sounds pretty standard at first, we have a committee like that here in America. As reported by ScreenRant, the biggest disparity between our committee and theirs is that they will be banning games if they feel the title doesn't promote certain social standards. In a sense, the games are being judged on a similar "Social Credit System." The Chinese government was worried about the amount of gaming being done by the youth that was unregulated. ScreenRant reports that about twenty games have been reviewed thus far, and Fortnite and PUBG were two of the games that didn't sit well with the committee. Both will reportedly be banned for their depiction of violence, although Fortnite does a very good job of eliminating blood, gore, and adult themes.
