Gaming rules for children in other countries - Key measures - education and parental controls

Q: What is the proposed Gaming Sub-Code intended to achieve?

It aims to give parents better tools to monitor children’s gaming through stronger age checks, safer child accounts, and spending controls.

Q: What roles do parents and gaming platforms both play?

Parents should understand games, check age ratings and privacy settings, set clear rules, and talk with children. Platforms are urged to implement safety-by-design safeguards within their services.

Q: How should violent video games be viewed according to the document?

Violent games should be treated as one potential risk factor for aggressive behaviour rather than the sole cause, since family environment, peer relationships, emotional difficulties, sleep and gaming habits can also contribute.

Oct 5, 2026

Uploaded by SANS

Proposed a Gaming Sub-Code aimed at helping parents monitor children’s gaming activities through stronger age checks, safer child accounts and tighter spending controls. Education group leaders stress that parents remain the first line of protection, while gaming platforms must adopt safety-by-design measures. Coverage highlights concerns about stranger contact, inappropriate communication and in-game purchases, plus the need for basic gaming and digital literacy education. It also notes that violent games are one possible risk factor, not a sole cause.

LanguageEnglish

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Proposed Gaming Sub-Code for Better Child Protections

Age checks and safer child accounts

Parental controls and spending monitoring

Platform safety-by-design measures

Risks from strangers, communication, and in-game purchases

Digital literacy education for schools

International examples of child gaming rules

TARIKH:4 OKTOBER 2026(AHAD) BERITA HARIAN[ UTUSAN M'SIA□N.STRAITS TIME [ S⁸4··8026 PG.C PETALING JAYA:Parent groupssay the proposed Gaming Sub-Code could assist parents in man-aging their children's gamingactivities through stronger agechecks,safer child accounts andspending controls. Parent Action Group forEducation president Datin NoorAzimah Abdul Rahman said par-ents remained the first line ofprotection but gaming platformsalso had a role to play in creatingsafer online environments forchildren. “Parents should know broadlywhat games their children play,check the age ratings and privacysettings,understand whetherstrangers can communicate withtheir child,and establish clearrules around playing time andspending. "Most importantly,parentsneed to talk to their children rath-er than simply police them,”shesaid. Citing a UNICEFMalaysia study,Noor Azimah said 72%of chil-dren aged between 12 and 17played online games at least oncea week,with the figure rising to84%among boys and 59%amonggirls. She said the concern extended | SEKTOR DOKUMENTASI PENDIDIKAN
BPPDP,Kementerian Pendidikan
Aras SB-4,Blok E8,Kompleks E,
Pusat Pentadbiran Kerajaan Persekutuan
62604 Putrajaya.
Tel :03-88846425
Faks:03-88846284 | | --- | | | Sub-Code will give parents bettertools to monitor gaming activities beyond violent content if chil-dren begin interacting withstrangers,have inappropriatecommunication and make virtu-al purchases. To strengthen the proposedsub-code,she called for moreeffective age-assurance measuresand parental controls,particular-ly for games involving maturecontent,communication featuresand in-game purchases. “Gaming platforms should alsoadopt safety-by-design measures,with appropriate safeguards builtinto their services instead of leav-ing parents to discover and acti-vate them,"she said. Noor Azimah added that vio-lent video games should beviewed as one potential risk fac-tor for aggressive behaviour rath-er than its sole cause,as factorssuch as family environment,peerrelationships,emotional difficul-ties,sleep and gaming habitscould also play a role. Melaka Action Group forParents in Education chairmanMak Chee Kin said the proposedGaming Sub-Code could helpstrengthen protections for chil-dren as the country's age rating ismeaningless if a child can simplyenter a false date of birth to THE STAR□SINAR HARIAN□ bypass it. He said age ratings alone wereinsufficient and called for strong-er age-assurance measures,saferchild accounts and greateraccountability among gamingplatforms and developers. He also urged tighter controlson strangers contacting children,excessive in-game spending andgambling-like features,includingpaid randomised rewards. “Child accounts should be safeby default,rather than expectingparents to discover and switch onevery protection themselves,"hesaid. Schools should also introducebasic gaming and digital literacyeducation to help children recog-nise risks,including cyberbully-ing and game features such asloot boxes,virtual currencies andlimited-time offers that couldencourage continued play orspending. Children should understandthe risks of interacting withstrangers online and know whento block users,report inappropri-ate behaviour or seek help fromtrusted adults,he added. On whether violent videogames could cause aggressivebehaviour,Mak said there was no | SEKTOR DOKUMENTASI PENDIDIKAN
BPPDP,Kementerian Pendidikan
Aras SB-4,Blok E8,Kompleks E,
Pusat Pentadbiran Kerajaan Persekutuan
62604 Putrajaya.
Tel :03-88846425
Faks:03-88846284 | | --- | | | TARIKH:4 OKTOBER 2026(AHAD) THE STAR N.STRAITS TIME[ SINAR HARIAN□ # Gaming rules for children in other countries | Philippines
Singapore
☑App stores must keep under-18s
☑No gaming-specific law yet
☑ Bills to regulate games are still
away from age-inappropriate
pending
apps
☑ Existing child protection and <

FAQs

What is the proposed Gaming Sub-Code intended to achieve?

It aims to give parents better tools to monitor children’s gaming through stronger age checks, safer child accounts, and spending controls.

What roles do parents and gaming platforms both play?

Parents should understand games, check age ratings and privacy settings, set clear rules, and talk with children. Platforms are urged to implement safety-by-design safeguards within their services.

How should violent video games be viewed according to the document?

Violent games should be treated as one potential risk factor for aggressive behaviour rather than the sole cause, since family environment, peer relationships, emotional difficulties, sleep and gaming habits can also contribute.

Oct 5, 2026

Uploaded by SANS