Online game PUBG banned citing negative impact on children

KATHMANDU, April 11: Nepal Telecom has banned the popular online game PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) citing its violent content had a negative impact on children.

According to Sandip Adhikari, Nepal Telecom deputy director, the PUBG is addictive to children and teenagers.

“Thus we have ordered the ban on the game,” he added.

“The ban will come into effect from Thursday”.

According to Adhikari, parents were very concerned about the effects of the game on their children. “We have several complaints from the parents that the children were distracted from their normal routine due to the game,” he said.

Nepal Telecom has also directed all the internet service providers, mobile operators and network service providers to block the streaming of the game from Thursday onwards.

PUBG, made by South Korean firm Bluehole Inc, is a survival-themed battle game that drops dozens of online players on an island to try and eliminate each other.

It was launched in 2017 and has a huge global following.