Fortnite
After being shut down for good in China, Fortnite is in trouble again, this time with allegations that it was deliberately created with the intention of being addictive. The Supreme Court of Canada has in fact authorized a lawsuit against the developer of the popular video game, Epic Games , filed by some residents of Quebec, who argue that the game is harming the health of their children.Those who grew up between the 80s and 90s are well aware of the natural aversion of almost all parents towards video games. Apart from locking up the consoles and thus banning the use of the various platforms, the law enforcement actions hardly resulted in legal proceedings against the companies themselves. But in 2022, about 60 years after the release of Spacewar , the first commercial video game, some parents decided to outdo themselves and bring the US giant Epic Games to the bar.
The appeal
The lawsuit was filed last July in Quebec by three people, according to whom their children have become severely addicted to Fortnite, so much so that they stop eating, sleeping and showering, according to BBC News. Behaviors that the prosecution directly attributes to the use of the video game and also to a possible premeditation on the part of Epic Games.The court rejected the hypothesis according to which Epic "deliberately created a game to cause addiction" in users, but at the same time, according to Global News , Judge Sylvain Lussier specified how “this does not exclude the possibility that the game is actually addictive and that the developer and distributor have always been aware of it ”.
For this reason, the court established that the lawsuit represents "a serious matter to be discussed, supported by sufficient and specific allegations on the existence of risks, or even dangers, deriving from the use of Fortnite". Prosecutors have even compared Epic Games to tobacco and cigarette distributors, arguing that the legal responsibilities are "basically the same."
In an interview with the BBC, Epic spokesmen denied the validity of the lawsuit, arguing that parents can have complete control of both their children's playtime and their online activities in the Epic store. video game. Minors cannot make purchases without the authorization of an adult, who can also set up parental control mechanisms on the consoles, to avoid prolonged use of the games.