Family Sues Big Publishers; Accuses Them of Supporting Game Addiction
A lawsuit has been filed in court in which an Arkansas family alleges that major gaming publishers intentionally addicted their child to video games. The defendants include Electronic Arts, Blizzard Entertainment and Microsoft, among others.
In late October, a court in the state of Arkansas (United States) received a lawsuit, filed by the family of a child addicted to video games (referred to in the lawsuit as G.D.). It accuses major gaming corporations of intentionally using methods through which minors can easily fall into addiction to digital entertainment.
- The defendants include such giants as Activision Blizzard, Microsoft, Epic Games, Electronic Arts and Ubisoft.
- The letter mentions that G.D. plays several hours a day and has spent thousands of dollars on so-called microtransactions.
- Because of his addiction, the family is seeking compensation for the injuries their child has suffered. Among them are pain in his hands, arms and elbows. The defendants are also expected to cover health care costs, as well as court fees.
In total the suing party has made 14 allegations of omissions against the big developers. One of them is the deliberate failure to warn young players of video games' addictive qualities
The court letter also did not lack a dozen pieces of evidence that the companies specifically want to addict young players to their products. This included, for example, the actions of Activision, which is said to use the personal data of its users to send offers with microtransactions.
"The defendants produced, published, promoted and sold video games, including those played by G.D., specifically designed to foster the addiction experienced by G.D. and other users," the court letter reads.
More lawsuits are on the way
Ms. Tina Bullock, a lawyer speaking on behalf of the family of the child, stresses that this is the first such hearing. More are expected in the coming weeks.
"Gaming addiction is a serious disorder that steals the lives of children and causes worry for families across the country. Parents like me often mistakenly believe that their child's addiction is a personal failure, but we hope that through this litigation we will show the reprehensible actions, deceptions and manipulations that big companies use for their own profits," Tina Bullock conveyed in a statement.
For now, the sued corporations have not commented on the case. It is also unclear when the first court hearing will take place.
Let's point out that in 2019, World Health Organization recognized "gaming disorder" as a disease. In the same year a clinic to treat gaming addicts opened in the UK.
