A 2019 class action lawsuit filed by three parents who were apparently disturbed by the effect Fortnite had on their children’s mental health, has now been approved by a Quebec-based court, as reported by Business Insider. The parents lashed out at the game, considering it responsible for the harmful tendencies their young ones had developed from playing the game.
Epic Games was accused of deliberately making Fortnite addictive
The Canadian court approved of the class action lawsuit since the judge felt that the plaintiff’s complaint in this particular instance “does not appear to be frivolous or manifestly ill-founded”, allowing it to be escalated.
The parents, who alleged that Fortnite was the reason behind the compulsive behavior, unhealthy spending habits, social handicaps, and psychological disorders, also had gotten a reply from Epic Games back when the case first made headlines as Epic Games brought up parental controls and called the case “meritless”, while Jean-Philippe Caron, the plaintiff’s lawyer, alleged that Fortnite’s developers made use of psychological tactics to make the game more addictive in nature. The judge presiding over the case said,
The court concludes that there is a serious issue to be argued, supported by sufficient and specific allegations as to the existence of risks or even dangers arising from the use of Fortnite. The court finds that there is no evidence for these allegations of the deliberate creation of an addictive game. This does not exclude the possibility that the game is in fact addictive and that its designer and distributor are presumed to know it.
judge, Quebec Court
Epic Games will obviously be battling this out in court however, going from a rational point, it’s hard to blame them as with any other legally addictive substance, it is upon the user to be aware and responsible for how they spend their time and whether or not they are addicted. In this particular case, of course, the onus would be on the parents, not Epic Games, who have also provided parental control tools. That being said, it should be interesting to see how this case progresses.
What are your thoughts about the class action lawsuit against Fortnite? Let us know in the comments below!
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