B.C. parents file proposed class-action lawsuit against Epic Games, the creator of Fortnite | CBC News

A Vancouver parent has launched a proposed class-action lawsuit against the makers of Fortnite, saying the popular video game is designed to be “as addictive as possible” for children.

In the lawsuit filed in B.C. Supreme Court on Friday, the plaintiff — identified only by the initials “A.B.” — says her son downloaded Fortnite in 2018 and “developed an adverse dependence on the game.”

The game, with 400 million players worldwide, is free to download and play but sells things like character costumes and dance moves for money.

The statement of claim says the game incorporates a number of intentional design choices, such as offering rewards for completing challenges and making frequent updates, which encourages players to return repeatedly.

It says Fortnite creator Epic Games enriches itself by making content and customization options purchasable via an in-game currency, which is purchased with real cash.

The class-action lawsuit would still need approval from the court, and none of the allegations have been proven in court.

The plaintiff is seeking damages alleging the game breaches the B.C. Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act and for “unjust enrichment” and medical expenses for psychological or physical injuries, among other claims.

The lawsuit would cover all persons affected by Fortnite in Canada except Quebec, where in February, Epic Games lost its attempt to appeal the court’s decision there to authorize a similar class-action suit.

Fined $520 million US in America

Epic Games, headquartered in Cary, N.C., agreed in December to pay $520 million US in fines and rebates for tricking millions of players into making unintentional purchases in the game, which was the heftiest penalty ever obtained by a company for violating rules of the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

The American regulator said the company would pay $275 million US for violating a law known as the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by deploying design tricks to get kids to download in-game content that costs real-world money. The company will also pay $245 million to refund consumers for what they spent on the downloaded content.

In addition to the fine for the content downloads, the FTC says Epic Games also violated COPPA by disregarding privacy concerns.

The game’s default settings allow for text and voice communications for users. That allowed children and teens to be bullied, threatened, harassed and exposed to dangerous and psychologically traumatizing issues such as suicide while on Fortnite, the FTC said.

“The company also required parents who requested that their children’s personal information be deleted to jump through unreasonable hoops and sometimes failed to honour such requests,” the FTC said.