Chinese games publisher latest target in chinese government crackdown

General online games publishing house Tap Tap in China has been fined $50,000 and suspended for three months after admitting that its systems failed to ensure that all foreign games passing through its doors receive the approval of the Chinese government.

Strict rules guarding against criminal activity, violence and pornography are applied by the government in considering its approval for such material, and the onus lies on the local publishing houses to ensure material is submitted through the correct channels.

The publication Pocket Gamer notes that the Tap Tap prosecution is the latest in a crackdown by the authorities in the sector concerned at the number of unapproved games on the market.

Tap Tap management acknowledged in a statement that the company had violated download and screening procedures of unauthorised overseas games in China.

“TapTap is currently operating a normal service, making all out-efforts to ensure that overseas developers are not inconvenienced and will follow the official Chinese law and developer better services,” the statement pointed out.

Pocket Gamer reports that the crackdown on publishers is widespread, noting:

“Thousands of games licenses have been investigated, as well as content on other media, and companies such as Tencent, Xiaomi, 360, IM30 and others have been handed either fines and/or warned about their behaviour.”

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