Children should be required to show parents’ consent when they register for online games, says child activist Hartini Zainudin.
She said this requirement should be part of any new law drawn up to regulate online game platforms.
Game providers must also be legally required to provide effective moderation tools, including the ability to disable chat, filter predatory language and report harmful behaviour with guaranteed response times.
Parents should also be educated on their children’s safety online, said Hartini, co-founder of the Yayasan Chow Kit charity, in response to an MP’s suggestion for a new law to regulate online games.
Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii made his proposal after a six-year-old boy in Johor was slashed in the neck by his elder brother who lost a million points on Roblox, an online game, when his phone was damaged by the younger boy.
Yii said existing laws were drawn up for a different era, which never anticipated gaming platforms becoming spaces for violent content, gambling and grooming.
He said gaming platforms should be subject to proper safeguards, ensuring that none escape responsibility due to technical loopholes
However, Hartini noted that such a law would be difficult to implement, given the resources needed for enforcement.
She said the current generation of children grew up with online games, the internet and social media, which she said also posed a difficulty in regulation.
“It’s an addiction that has spread so broadly and deeply. But if we do nothing (to stop the addiction), we will destroy the minds and lives of children,” she told FMT.
Games of chance and skill
Fellow child activist James Nayagam said the proposed law should distinguish between categories of computer games, such as those based on skill as against those based on chance.
This would ensure that children are not barred from healthy gaming avenues such as esports, he said.
He said any regulation on online gaming platforms must ensure that operators are properly licensed. The operators must also face regular audits.
