Chinese authorities debate video game oversight

Regulatory agencies in China are currently debating the ability to monitor popular video game World of Warcraft, in an argument that has brought the country’s treatment of internet censorship into public debate.

The official bureau that gives publishers the ability to work in the country says the game’s Chinese operator failed to acquire import approval, but the Ministry of Culture’s cultural products department has said it holds jurisdiction in this case and the publisher has done nothing wrong.

The General Administration of Press and Publications released a statement on Monday saying the “Warcraft” operator, Netease.com, has failed to gainadministration permission and should stop signing up customers.

World of Warcraft is one of the most popular games around the world, with millions of users currently holding accounts.

But the ministry of Culture has replied, with its director of cultural markets, Li Xiong, saying that “These online games and publications are fully subject to administration by the Ministry of Culture”.

China’s internet population of 338 million users is the world’s largest. Analysts have said government administrators are squabbling over which departments can handle regulation of the internet as different types of content is allowed for public access.

“If you supervise a more dynamic area with a lot of growth potential, you have more budget and more administrative muscle,” Edward Yu, president of

Analysys International, an internet research firm in Beijing, told The Age. “They see this pie is getting bigger and bigger, so it is no wonder different administrations are fighting over pieces of that territory.”