SEOUL, Feb. 2 (UPI) -- Critics of a controversial online gaming curfew in South Korea say it's questionable how effective it's been in battling online game addiction among teenagers.
The "shutdown law" curfew, in effect for two months, prohibits those under the age of 16 from playing online games between midnight and 6 a.m.
The law, also known as the "Cinderella law," drew fierce protests from Internet users as well as South Korea's online game industry, and doubts still linger over its effectiveness, China's Xinhua news agency reported Tuesday.
Critics argue adolescents can easily circumvent the government's censorship by creating gaming accounts with their parent's personal information, including the parent's social security number, which contains their date of birth.
People accessing six different online games hosted by the country's three leading online game firms during the 6-hour curfew block stood at an average of 41,796 in the first month after the implementation, down a mere 4.5 percent from 43,744 people a month before, Yonhap news agency reported.
The slight reduction proved the shutdown policy was ineffective and would likely just boost illegal activities by adolescents, a gaming industry source told Yonhap.
