Is it underage who comes to play with adults when placing an order? Journalist Investigates Chaos in the Accompanying Play Industry Software | Offline | Reporter
"Students, play games with me, take orders on weekends." "Offline play with me, wearing ultra short skirts or black silk, you want me to wear it any way you want." "Playing without showing my face costs 148 yuan per 10 minutes, and playing with my face costs 228 yuan per 10 minutes." These are the play information that a reporter from the Legal Daily recently saw or received while investigating the emerging trend of play with me.
In recent years, with the development of the Internet economy, "playing with others" has sprung up quietly. The investigation by reporters found that finding a companion can place orders through various channels such as platforms or group chats, and the forms of companion play not only include playing games, accompanying tours, etc., but some companion play services play a "borderline ball". Some companion play businesses are evolving from online to offline, posing security risks.
Experts interviewed believe that playing with companions actually plays a role in companionship, and its existence has certain practical needs and significance. However, currently, various chaos has been exposed in the industry, which may pose a threat to the physical and mental health of minors and should be taken seriously. It is recommended that relevant departments strengthen supervision and continuously improve the methods of investigation and punishment to identify potential issues such as "edge scraping". Platforms, industries, relevant practitioners, and offline business entities should strengthen their legal awareness and carry out accompanying activities in a legal and compliant manner.
Order online games to play with
Many of them are minors
Recently, a reporter conducted a search on a certain app store using the keyword "playing with others" and found that there are 20-30 related applications. The reporter randomly downloaded some related apps and found that almost all of them focus on playing games as companions, and orders can be completed through the apps. Some apps also allow players from the same city to see the distance between the companion and themselves.
The reporter tried to find that on these apps, players can find accompanying players for mobile and PC games. The prices of accompanying games vary depending on the game. If players want to find accompanying services, they need to first recharge tokens and then place orders in the form of tokens. A game's price usually ranges from a few yuan to several tens of yuan depending on its level, level of companionship, and other factors. There are also those that calculate prices based on time, measured in half an hour, with prices ranging from tens of yuan to over a hundred yuan.
The reporter noticed that the platform has a very detailed distinction between the types of accompanying games, such as the choice of which game to play when placing an order, and how many games each accompanying player has to place an order for. Each companion's homepage not only provides an introduction to the games they will play, but also provides information on their gaming skills, communication skills, personality, and more.
It is understood that the tokens earned from playing with others can be withdrawn, and the platform will deduct a handling fee, usually around 20%.
It is worth noting that although the registration interface of these companion apps clearly requires the registrant to be at least 18 years old and sets up identity verification information, the reporter's investigation found that many minors are providing companion services.
The reporter posted a request for companionship through a certain platform, and soon someone called through a reserved phone number. The voice was a very young young man, who said, "Boss, add friends" and "Boss, register". According to the other party's prompt, the reporter added their social account as a friend. After playing a few games together, the other party expressed that their playtime was over and they could privately chat with them if they had any needs in the future. Their studio also has multiple playmates who can team up to play the game together.
In the subsequent communication, the reporter learned that this playmate is currently in his sophomore year of high school and usually takes orders to play with him to earn pocket money. The studios they work in are all classmates and friends, young people around the age of 16 to 20, who have fast hand speed and good gaming skills.
Some voice chat apps also have companion channels, and after entering the channel, you can register as a companion. The reporter found that the registration process does not require users to provide information such as ID number, and the date of birth can be filled in at will.
"I once met someone who played games with me, and his voice sounded very young. When I asked, I found out he was still a junior high school student," a netizen who had placed an order told reporters.
In some online forums, there are also companions to play with. The reporter searched for "high school student playtime" on the Tieba, and the search page that popped up was full of "playtime" job seeking posts. In a post titled "Playing games with me, I am a junior high school student, taking orders on weekends", many comments are urging the poster to "stop learning and get on the account quickly".
Hidden tricks in chat groups
Using a secret code to play the "edge ball"
On a certain social media platform, searching for keywords such as "playing with others", the reporter saw that many posts wrote "looking for a boss" and "accepting orders". A user named "Pupu is very soft and sticky" posted that they were playing with, but the accompanying pictures were two pictures of their legs wearing stockings, as well as a chat screenshot. The content showed that the "boss" requested playing with them to provide pornographic services, and then they had a video chat for more than four minutes.
Not only that, there will always be advertising posts for companion groups in the comment section of these "boss seeking" companion posts. Following the information in the comment section, the reporter joined a companion group. The administrator has set a ban on all members, and the names of the group leader and each administrator are "Order private chat, private menu viewing". The reporter attempted to contact one of them and sent two pictures to the reporter. The first picture shows the types and prices of accompanying services: 148 yuan for every 10 minutes of playing without showing up, 228 yuan for every 10 minutes of playing with showing up, and an additional 30 yuan deposit is required. If you are not satisfied with the selected accompanying services, you can hang up within one minute, add 30 yuan for a replacement, and if you exceed the time limit, you will not return or exchange them. During the process, you cannot record the screen or watch it with multiple people. If you hang up directly, you will not receive a refund.
And the content of the second picture is even more wrong - it states that the service types are divided into "green" and "TS". Green play includes "entertainment play, girlfriend play, technical play..." as well as services such as sleeping, waking up, and day booking. The "TS category" next to it refers to service types such as "KP, Wenai, and Additional Projects". It was only after explanation by customer service that they were all related to pornography.
The reporter found that almost all companion apps downloaded from the app store have sensitive word detection systems. If words such as "offline" and "about" are included in the conversation, the sending will fail, and the platform will prompt "the copy contains sensitive words" or directly issue a warning. But it's hard to play with, they can communicate using the first letter of pinyin to avoid it. After placing an order for a game, players can also choose to add game friends for private chat or connect via voice software.
On a certain app, multiple accompanying players proactively greeted reporters and expressed their willingness to "h", "sp", etc. Further inquiries revealed the "profound meaning": players can choose not to play the game and engage in pornographic text or voice chat, or even video nude chat.
As the investigation deepened, the reporter learned that many companions had joined guilds. There is also a dedicated person in the guild responsible for coordinating orders involving yellow requirements. If customers have relevant needs, they will directly transfer the orders to the accompanying players who do such orders. The prices vary according to voice and video prices, often ranging from tens of yuan to over 100 yuan per 10 minutes.
"H single is not a secret in the industry," said Ms. Zhang, who has been playing with a certain platform for a long time. "Although the platform prohibits pornography, it is inevitable that some players and companions use the platform as a platform to engage in illegal transactions." For example, "Li Bai Bai," a netizen who has worked with accompanying players, said that she is often asked if she provides "special orders" during the process of playing games.
The reporter joined a companion group called "Nianyin". From the existing group files and chat records of group members, it can be seen that the group owner and administrator will draw up to 65% of the "platform fee" for each order. "The group will assign orders to you, but the commission will be very high. For example, if someone places an order for 300 yuan, you can only receive around 120 yuan in the end." A group friend told reporters that according to the information posted in the group, accompanying players also need to meet some special requirements of customers during chatting, such as requiring videos, showing legs, etc. ".
It is understood that the so-called dispatching in the group actually refers to the group administrator receiving orders through the account of the companion play and chat app, and then dispatching them to the group members.
"These accounts will take orders under the banner of 'blind box play and chat', which means bypassing the supervision of real name registration on play and chat platforms." said the above group members.
Playing with others and transitioning to offline
Difficulty in ensuring personal safety
"Tonight is free, do you have a boss to make an appointment with? It can be done offline! It can be specified!" This is the status seen by the reporter in a personal update of a certain companion. According to industry insiders, in addition to online activities, there are also some platforms that arrange offline activities and place orders.
It is reported that offline companion games can also be ordered through some companion software, but these types of software generally require scanning the code to download and cannot be found in the app store. On these apps, users can arrange to play games, have meals, go shopping, chat, watch movies, kill scripts, escape from secret rooms, etc. They cannot directly contact the companion and can only make choices through the personal information of the companion published on the platform.
"There are photos, sounds, and game levels. After the customer places an order and confirms the transaction, the companion will only meet with the customer." According to industry insiders, customers can view photos, sounds, and videos on the companion's homepage through the platform before making a selection. After the transaction is completed, the platform will extract a portion of the fees for sharing. Of course, many accompanying players do not solely rely on this to make money. They earn the most from red envelopes and tips sent by the "boss". "After placing an order, customers can also specify the attire and appearance of the accompanying players.".
"Once when I clicked offline play, a young girl came and found out that she was a minor after asking. My account number clearly showed that she was an adult." Xiao Li, a player from Nanjing, Jiangsu, complained that some bad platforms were irresponsible. What should minors do if they met someone with bad intentions when playing with them? Who should bear the responsibility?
Recently, the reporter visited an internet cafe in Songjiang District, Shanghai and asked if the cafe could provide accompanying services. The front desk staff took out their phones and showed the reporter a picture with a QR code, which read "YOU Esports Teaching Assistant Club" and indicated the price as "128 yuan per hour for teaching assistants; 200 yuan per hour for Queen level".
The reporter added the social media account of the teaching assistant, who said they can accompany shopping, eating, watching movies, playing billiards, and playing board games, and pointed out precautions: "Hotels, home visits, private cinemas, and other private places for two people are not provided. Bar KTV drinking places should follow the principle of voluntary drinking and respect girls! No forced drinking is allowed. Please do not act recklessly or molest women." The other party said that some people click offline to play, with bad motives, thinking that they can act and move freely.
Industry chaos calls for regulation
Minors are strictly prohibited from participating
For the entertainment industry, experts interviewed believe that entertainment actually plays a role in companionship and meets the emotional consumption needs of some people. However, the chaos exposed in it, such as minors entering at will and issues related to pornography and sex, should be taken seriously.
Professor Wang Sixin from Communication University of China believes that there should be two key issues to focus on: first, to prevent teenagers from getting involved in pornographic activities, and second, to be vigilant about the potential generation of a large amount of polluting information. It is necessary to eliminate the use of pornography to support businesses at the root, strengthen rectification to avoid the formation of a gray industry chain.
Han Yingwei, Senior Partner of Beijing Yingke Law Firm, said that if online playtime is suspected of spreading pornography, whether for profit or not, reaching a certain quantity or causing serious consequences may constitute a crime. At present, the public security organs have also paid attention to the phenomenon of pornography in the gaming industry and cracked down on it, including timely disposal, urging website platforms to clean up vulgar and harmful information, sealing and disposing of illegal and irregular accounts, and removing pornographic apps.
In Han Yingwei's view, in order to rectify the chaos of playing with companions, it is necessary to strengthen the supervision and regulation of offline activities involving pornography, and relevant departments should issue normative legal documents to regulate and guide them.
Wang Sixin proposed that the platform should further strengthen management, strictly screen and monitor in real time, coordinate and cooperate with law enforcement departments, and further improve its ability to investigate and warn of pornographic information; Once discovered, promptly deal with it, quickly cut off the transmission chain of pornographic information, reduce its impact, strengthen punishment, and increase the cost of illegal activities. Various platforms should communicate in a timely manner, strengthen cooperation, share information, jointly ban and ban accounts related to pornography, and provide clues that may be criminal offenses to the public security organs in a timely manner.
"As network operators and network service providers, Internet platforms should first strengthen the management of user registration process, raise the registration threshold, strictly require real name registration, one certificate and one number, and prohibit minors from participating," said Han Yingwei.
Wang Sixin believes that the entertainment industry should first strengthen the quality education of service providers in accordance with national laws and social norms, implement graded and classified management of platforms, and introduce a joint credit punishment mechanism for supervision based on the reputation of service providers and their past records of using information services.
"Raise the threshold for employment, set strict assessment standards, ensure the admission qualifications of the main players in the entertainment industry, unify filing management, and strengthen publicity and education. Currently, the entertainment industry has unclear business scope and boundaries, and clear business scope and requirements should be established to avoid the intersection of legitimate entertainment behavior and illegal criminal behavior." Han Yingwei said.
Han Yingwei suggests strengthening supervision and management throughout the entire process, and establishing a sound mechanism for complaints, reports, and accountability. For companion gaming platforms, both supervision and review should be carried out simultaneously, and the internal supervision and management system as well as the accountability mechanism of the platform should be improved. For individuals who play with others, the entry threshold should be raised, unified management and assessment should be carried out, and a record of bad behavior should be established. Once there are records of bad behavior, they should be dealt with in a timely manner, and their professional qualifications should be revoked to achieve clean development within the industry.
