A High Court of Canada judge has upheld a lawsuit brought by three parents who say their children wouldn’t sleep, eat or shower because they were addicted to playing Fortnite.
The parents allege that the game was deliberately made highly addictive and has had a lasting effect on their children.
The lawsuit is being filed against Fornite’s maker, Epic Games, and its Canadian subsidiary. Epic Games responded (Opens in a new window) to the lawsuit saying it had “industry-leading parental controls that allow parents to monitor their children’s digital experience.”
The game maker added: “We intend to fight this in court. We believe the evidence will prove this case is futile.”
One parent said his son had played 6,923 games, while another child played more than 7,700 times over two years for a minimum of three hours a day, according to a CBC report, while the original court file says one of the children was diagnosed. with addiction by a doctor.
In his ruling (Opens in a new window), Judge Sylvain Lussier said the action “does not appear frivolous or manifestly unfounded” and concluded that there is “a serious issue to be argued, supported by sufficient pleadings and specific to the risks or even dangers arising from the use of Fortnite”.
According to Global News (Opens in a new window), lawyers representing the plaintiffs have compared the lawsuit to a landmark motion that claimed the Quebec tobacco industry intended to create an addictive product without proper warning.
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Any potential compensation must be determined by the court, Global News reports. And any Fortnite player residing in Quebec, Canada since September 1, 2017, who became addicted to the video game is also allowed to claim any court-approved damages if the lawsuit is successful, reports Complex ( Opens in a new window). The court also added that any player under the age of 18 who purchased anything from the game’s online store could also be eligible for refunds.
The High Court noted in its ruling that the World Health Organization declared video game addiction, or “gaming disorder (Opens in a new window),” a disease in 2018.
In August, California lawmakers killed a bill that would have “made it illegal” for Big Tech’s social media platforms to “addict children,” after significant lobbying from Twitter, Meta and Snap.
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