The first lawsuit was filed in 2019, just two years later Before Fortnite. However, just three years later, in early December, the Supreme Court of Canada allowed a lawsuit in this case.
Epic games He has until January 3 to appeal, if he doesn’t, the case will go to trial – from CTV News Montreal. Three parents have filed a lawsuit against Epic Games. The court ruled that other parents whose children became addicted could join their class action lawsuit Games.
“You provide it as addictive as cocaine”
Fortnite is a battle royale production. 100 players compete on one board, whoever kills the last opponent wins.
The applicants argue that their children spend almost all of their free time game in Fortnite, sometimes forgetting to eat and wash. They spend thousands of hours in the game, they even buy into the game for real money without their parents knowing virtual Objects
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The lawsuit alleged that a child was suffering from panic attacks as a result of gambling. The documents also cited a report by addiction specialist Anita Ghadi-Smith, in which she compared playing Fornite to cocaine addiction.
Epic Games’ lawsuits also claimed that one of the children was diagnosed with a “computer addiction”. The company defended itself, arguing that the diagnosis was unofficial and was not accompanied by an expert report that indicated the cause of the addiction.
Epic also said there is no strict definition of gambling addiction and referred to the American Psychiatric Association, which says more research is needed. However, the judge pointed out that WHO I have classified gambling addiction as a disease since 2018. He also explained that the lack of a strict definition does not make the parents’ request unfounded. He added that consideration of the case was in the public interest.
“Likewise, the harmfulness of tobacco was not recognized overnight,” the judge wrote in his justification. However, the parents’ lawyer stressed that there is something special about Fortnite, because no other production has therapy centers dedicated to a specific game.
Was Fortnite particularly addictive?
Parents believe that the game is deliberately designed to be addictive. Their attorney pointed out that Epic collaborated with psychologist Celia Hodent when designing the game. However, the judge, citing his 2018 interview with Le Monde, said he was not convinced that Hodent intended to create an addictive game.
According to the judge, there is no certainty that the parental allegations that the game is deliberately highly addictive, are justified, He added, however, that this does not exclude that the game is actually addictive and that its creators and distributor knew it.
Epic has released a statement in which it informs to provide a parental control tool that allows you to supervise what children do online. The company explains that parents can receive reports on the time their children spend in the game and there is an option to enable permission for each Buy in the game. Epic intends to defend itself in court. The object of the case must also be returned money for virtual items purchased without the parents’ knowledge.
