AfterDawn: News

Facebook now facing a class action lawsuit over children's spending on the site

A federal judge has ruled that Facebook will face a class action lawsuit that contends the social media giant must pay refunds if children spend their parent's money on the website without permission.

The suit will likely have hundreds of thousands of plaintiffs asking Facebook to change the way online transactions by minors are handled. Refunds would be reviewed on a case to case basis.



Begun in 2012, the lawsuit said Facebook let children user their parent's credit cards to buy Facebook Credits and then refused refunds after complaints citing their "all sales are final" policy.

Two kids and their parents originally filed the suit. The first child said he was allowed to spend $20 to play the game 'Ninja Saga,' but he eventually spend hundreds of dollars confusing real money with in-game currency. The second child took his mother's debit card and spent $1059 without permission. Both were younger than 13 years old, the minimum age to have a Facebook account.

"We're very pleased with the decision," said J.R. Parker, a lawyer for the plaintiffs. "The difference between Facebook and other businesses is that the company is on actual notice of a user's age, but treats children the same as adult users when it comes to taking their money."


Source:
Reuters

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 13 Mar 2015 14:13

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• 3 comments

• MagengarZ

  The PARENTS should get sued for not watching what
  their kids do online!
  Spare a credit card, spoil a brat.

  19.3.2015 00:12 #1

• diggum

  Man, it disgusts me to the deepest, blackest part of my soul to defend Facebook here...but when you're right, you're right, and Facebook...well, it's not wrong int his specific instance. On what planet is ANYONE other than yourself responsible for your own financial data? Why do your kids have your credit cards? Why do your kids have unfettered and unsupervised access to the most powerful, and inherently dangerous, social network ever devised by mankind?
  
  This isn't Facebook's failing, this is a failing to apply even the most basic parenting skills. Children don't have rights to privacy. They shouldn't have password locked accounts that you don't have the password to. They shouldn't have access to your credit card. Why should Facebook pay for your inability to raise your child? HOUSE CATS can raise their children, why can't you?
  

  22.3.2015 14:26 #2

• MagengarZ

  I agree. The parents should be held responsible for
  the child's actions online, especially if the child is
  using the parents' credit cards online.
  
  I would also add that companies online use people's
  credit cards as a loose form of "age verification"
  without regard for whether the credit card holder is
  an actual adult or a child. There's no sure way to tell.
  
  When Junior uses mommy's or daddy's credit card to
  make transactions online and access paid porn sites,
  the company only sees it as a mature credit card user.
  So then, what parent in their right mind would allow
  their child to use a credit card online, Unsupervised!
  And then the parents complain so much about being
  in Credit Card Debt! It's freakin outrageous! (smh)

  22.3.2015 15:48 #3