South Korea blocks all Facebook games as part of a government crackdown

Last week, every Facebook game stopped working in South Korea. And they’re not coming back until the country’s government can apply its rating system.

On Aug. 29, Candy Crush Saga, FarmVille, and all other games on Facebook ceased functioning in South Korea. The nation blocked them as part of the enforcement of its Game Industry Promotion Act, which established a legally binding age-appropriateness rating system in December 2013 — although the country never went through steps of applying those guidelines on Facebook games until now. That legislation and the recent enforcement is part of a wider effort to implement control over social-casino games, but the country is also taking the opportunity to ensure everything on Facebook complies with its regulations.