VNG Corporation—VNG listed government-approved 18+ games at lower app-store age ratings, prompting a Vietnamese regulatory compliance order
Vietnamese outlets Lao Dong and VietNamNet reported that VNG Corporation published multiple games carrying official 18+ content-approval ratings -- including Vo Lam Truyen Ky Mobile (5 million+ Google Play downloads), Lineage2M, Tan Thien Long, and Lien Minh Huyen Thoai: Toc Chien -- at lower displayed age ratings (9+/12+/13+) on Google Play and the App Store, making them more readily accessible to minors. Ho Chi Minh City's Department of Culture and Sports subsequently ordered all game publishers, including VNG, to correct app-store age-rating discrepancies within 15 days to match official approvals, implement reliable identity verification, and enforce daily playtime limits for minors, under penalty of distribution suspension or revoked publishing approval.
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Child Safety | -against | primary | -1.00 |
| Overall incident score = | -0.590 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (medium ×1) × confidence (0.59)
Evidence (2 signals)
VietNamNet: HCMC orders game publishers, including VNG, to fix misleading 13+ and 18+ age ratings
VietNamNet reported Ho Chi Minh City's Department of Culture and Sports ordered game publishers to correct app-store age ratings that understate official approvals within 15 days, and to implement identity verification and playtime limits for minors under Decree No. 147/2024/ND-CP, naming VNG among publishers targeted.
Lao Dong: VNG games carry lower app-store age ratings than official 18+ government approvals
Vietnamese daily Lao Dong reported that several VNG-published games officially approved for 18+ audiences -- including Vo Lam Truyen Ky Mobile (5M+ Google Play downloads), Lineage2M, Tan Thien Long, and Nghich Thuy Han -- were listed at 9+/12+/13+ on Google Play and the App Store, making them more accessible to children.