A few days ago, a group of parents filed a lawsuit against Apple, claiming that the company doesn't do anything to impose restrictions towards children who want to buy in-game content for the so-called
"free-to-play" apps published on Apple's App Store. Now another
similar class action lawsuit has been filed, this time against Facebook.
A site reports that the lawsuit was filed on Friday by Glynnis Bohannon of Arizona.
She claims that her son, a minor, was able to purchase Facebook Credits,
which are then used to acquire content for games such as Farmville.
Facebook's terms of service
claim that anyone under 18 can only purchase Facebook Credits with the
help of parent or guardian's monetary help(may be through a credit card). However, Bohannon claims that her unnamed
son was unaware that he was spending real money, via her mother's credit
card, to purchase Facebook Credits. Facebook gets a 30 percent cut of
all in-gaming transactions.
Richard Branson the Manager for Payment Operation for Facebook reports a similar court filing that gives the statistics that $5 million in Facebook credits were purchased in 2011 by minors within the age group 13 to 17.
Bohannon is seeking a refund of not just the money spent by her son but
also a refund for anyone in a similar situation.While in an official
statement, Facebook said, "We believe this complaint is without merit
and we will fight it vigorously"
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