Who broke the game companion and reached a "special" transaction under the guise of playing companion? Reporter | Game | Transaction
Nowadays, the gaming industry in China has become the fourth track in the esports industry, apart from gaming, live streaming, and sports events. At the same time, some minors bypass the platform's real name authentication to participate in playing games, while others engage in illegal transactions under the guise of playing games. Experts suggest that in order for the companion industry to develop in a standardized manner, platforms should strengthen audits and improve bottom line supervision.
Entering July, summer vacation has arrived, and playing online games has become a part of many minors' summer life. With the rapid development of the Internet economy, the game accompaniment industry is also quietly emerging. According to statistics, in 2021, the size of China's gaming companion market exceeded 14 billion yuan, becoming the fourth track in the esports industry after gaming, live streaming, and competitions.
The so-called companion play refers to accompanying users to play games and providing interactive services for online game players. According to a survey conducted by a reporter from the Workers' Daily, finding a companion can be done through platforms or groups to place orders. The forms of companion play are not limited to gaming technology, but also include entertainment, with a large number of minors participating. Some of the companion play businesses involve gray areas.
Experts believe that on the one hand, it is necessary to improve the level of review, strengthen the full process tracking and dynamic sensing of companion play services, and on the other hand, strengthen bottom line supervision. Once violations are found, a blacklist system should be established, and a credit punishment sharing mechanism should be formed in conjunction with various platforms.
Minors evade real name authentication and participate in playtime activities
Opening a mobile app store, the reporter searched using the keyword "play with me" and found dozens of related apps. The reporter randomly downloaded several apps and when entering the platform homepage, you can see that the types of game accompaniment cover both mobile and PC games, including multiple popular game categories on the market.
If players want to find accompanying services, many platforms need to first recharge tokens and place orders in the form of tokens. According to user requirements and different levels of companionship, the price of a game ranges from a few yuan to several tens of yuan, and there are also charges based on the time spent playing.
It is worth noting that although players need to meet the age limit of 18 when registering on the platform, the reporter found that the review mechanism of many platforms is relatively loose, and the actual age of users cannot be verified, with a large number of minors accepting orders as companions.
"When applying as a companion, although many platforms now require applicants to have real name authentication, there are still cases where minors borrow someone else's account to participate in the game." Han Chao, a full-time game companion, told reporters that some people avoid real name authentication by joining game companion groups. "The so-called companion group is to recruit technically skilled companions online to form a group, and the group administrators will concentrate on dispatching orders, which basically breaks away from platform control. The only criterion for joining the group is technical hard.".
Ms. Ma, a gamer, said that she often encounters minors when looking for companionship on social media platforms. "This industry often requires overnight companionship, and I have encountered children skipping classes to play with." Ms. Ma said.
Achieve a "special" transaction under the guise of playing with others
It is understood that there are two main types of demands for gaming companions: one is gaming technology accompaniment, and the other is entertainment accompaniment, mainly focusing on making friends and interacting.
Opening the homepage of a companion on a certain companion app will not only indicate their gaming skills and strengths, but also describe their personality and talents. The companion will also provide a few seconds of voice self introduction. In addition to "technical level", "service attitude" and "sound quality" are all included in the categories of user evaluations.
After the reporter joined a play room on a certain platform, the homeowner "Moxi" told the reporter that female playmates are more popular in entertainment play, and their requirements are young, good voice, interactive, and preferably high appearance.
"Whether a female companion plays games well or not is important, and the most important thing is good service, which can satisfy the boss." "Mo Xi" said. When the reporter asked about the services available for entertainment companionship, the other party sent the reporter a list through private chat, which included whole wheat singing, game interaction, coquettish confessions, and other items.
According to Han Chao, due to the platform's commission system, the fees received by playmates are usually deducted from the transaction fees. Therefore, many people choose to communicate with their bosses and privately contact and transfer funds through social media. Regarding this, "Moxi" subtly stated, "We have a lot of online music playlists, just singing. But after you contact the boss offline, what you are willing to play is up to you."
Li Ming, who has been engaged in the entertainment industry for many years, pointed out that although platforms now issue timely warnings through sensitive word detection, there are always people who use entertainment as an intermediary to reach some "special" transactions through abbreviations, abbreviations, etc.
"For example, a regular nude photo is priced at around 30 yuan, while those with specific actions and postures are priced at 100 yuan. There are also some video nude projects that are even more expensive," Li Ming said. In addition, many pornographic companion projects are replaced with abbreviations to facilitate safe communication between the boss and the companion. For example, "KP" and "Wen Ai" respectively refer to voice and text pornographic chatting, and some people may even develop from online companion to offline companion. ".
Regarding this, Han Chao told reporters that "yellow orders" are considered an open secret in the entertainment industry. "In chat groups or many platform lobbies, people are taking such orders, and usually their homepage will also attach some more exposed pictures. It is not difficult for users to find people through secret codes."
Strengthen the review mechanism and improve bottom line supervision
"Only when there is demand can there be a market. First of all, it needs to be affirmed that the gaming industry has a positive effect on esports enthusiasts." Zhu Wei, Deputy Director of the Communication Law Research Center at China University of Political Science and Law, said of the gaming industry, "At the same time, we should focus on two issues: one is the participation of minors, and the other is to be wary of gaming becoming an intermediary providing pornographic or other peripheral services."
Zhao Liangshan, senior partner of Shaanxi Hengda Law Firm, said that China's "Network Security Law", "Juvenile Protection Law", "Internet Information Service Management Measures", and "Interim Measures for Online Game Management" all put forward clear requirements for minors' game access, anti addiction, and so on. If the playing platform can easily allow minors to enter, it is obviously not up to the audit management obligations, and is suspected of violating the law. At the same time, if using companionship to engage in transactions such as pornography, gambling, fraud, obscenity, etc. to cover up illegal purposes in a legal form, it is also suspected of illegal crimes.
As early as 2021, relevant departments in multiple regions have imposed centralized penalties on a group of illegal enterprises and platforms in accordance with the requirements of the notice on preventing addiction to online games, and ordered them to conduct in-depth rectification on related issues, and to clean up illegal and irregular information and accounts.
In this regard, Wang Sixin, Vice Dean of the Institute of Community with a Shared Future for Humanity at Communication University of China, believes that in order to standardize the development of the companion industry, the platform needs to strengthen its review from a technical perspective. Through a combination of human review and machine review, a full process tracking and dynamic sensing system should be established for companion services, forming a complete response mechanism and conscientiously implementing relevant policies and regulations; At the same time, each platform should facilitate the feedback process for subsequent complaints and reports, and if necessary, coordinate and cooperate with law enforcement departments. Once any violations are found, they should be dealt with in a timely manner.
Zhu Wei believes that the entertainment industry should improve bottom line supervision. "Bottom line supervision is also credit supervision. Once violations are discovered, the punishment should be strengthened and the business should be banned for life. This is similar to a blacklist system. Once a problematic account is discovered, not only should it be permanently banned, but all registered accounts should not enter the relevant industry again." He said, "At the same time, an interconnected credit punishment sharing mechanism should be established between various platforms to form a joint force to punish and dispose of the violating account."
