Facebook in Legal Trouble Over Virtual Currency

[jhansonxi]

It's not easy for an online service to verify the age of a remote user. Almost any test can be worked around. Attempting to use a social security number or drivers license would cause outrage among privacy advocates.

 

[alidan]

[citation][nom]digitalrazoe[/nom]This is not Facebook's fault ( or apple's far as that goes ) Parents don't talk to their kids now as they did back in the day. When game consoles came out my mom would not allow them in the house. I did, however, get my first computer. I had to learn to PROGRAM if I wanted to play anything remotely considered a computer game! when the Internet first picked up I did get into trouble with long distance charges to remote servers. BUT I was learning and we DISCUSSED the responsibility of accessing such information. This generation is so oblivious to what's happening that there is no clear cut way to control it other than GET ACTIVE Parents. It's not any portal/website's fault. The blame starts at home! deal with it![/citation]

no i give apple some credit, its 1 device per house if you arent rich, and that device is owned by the parrents.

kid needs the password for every free game they want...
parent gets sick of free free free all the time,
gives kid password

those games than ask retarded amounts of money for ingame crap.
they are desighned to take money from kids who know the passwords.

this facebook... kid either has to steal the credit card, or parrent has to put it in and be stupid.

[citation][nom]Cy-Kill[/nom]"Then again, making Facebook credit or Apple in-app purchases requires an adult’s credit card."Actually, that's not true in Facebook's case, you can buy credits by mobile phone or land line, no need for a credit card![/citation]

so if a kid called a late night 900 number, its their fault?
that is the same as the credit card thing its theft

 

[LORD_ORION]

It would be if the 900 number was a trojan in a kid targeted app, that then initiated the transaction with a "Want more cool stuff" button.

This is pretty much what is happening... the impulsive "buy more stuff now" buttons are being obfuscated in apps intentionally targeting kids who don't know any better.

Also F all of you with this hover mom and dad mentality. Kids suffocated in bubble wrap by their idiotic baby-boomer parents have created generations of inept brain function kids.

True fact, letting you babies roam of their own free will increases intelligence. Carrying them around everywhere with you to keep them safe creates allelomimetic lemmings.

 

[Nightsilver]

I had to google "allelomimetic", then I laughed at the redundancy of "allelomimetic lemmings".

 

[xerroz]

All I care about is that Facebook and Apple get smacked around the room

 

[husker]

This all depends on the definition of "proof of parental consent". Just having access to a valid credit card number is not really proof of anything and is used as a cop-out by websites. Is it difficult for web sites to validate the age of someone who is only a virtual presence? Might it affect their total sales? Yes to both, but that exposes a flaw in their business model, not a flaw in the consumer protection laws. Sorry if I design a crappy car everyone wants, and it is unsafe. Time to change the safety regulations, I guess.

 

[rohitbaran]

[citation][nom]alvine[/nom]wow when i was 13 i was playing outside[/citation]
Well, kids of this gen play with smartphones just after they are born lol!

 

[richboyliang]

Why does this kid need fricking credits to use facebook; can't he use it like everybody else?

 

[jisamaniac]

[citation][nom]alvine[/nom]wow when i was 13 i was playing outside[/citation]

Outside? What's that?

 

[alidan]

[citation][nom]LORD_ORION[/nom]It would be if the 900 number was a trojan in a kid targeted app, that then initiated the transaction with a "Want more cool stuff" button.This is pretty much what is happening... the impulsive "buy more stuff now" buttons are being obfuscated in apps intentionally targeting kids who don't know any better.Also F all of you with this hover mom and dad mentality. Kids suffocated in bubble wrap by their idiotic baby-boomer parents have created generations of inept brain function kids.True fact, letting you babies roam of their own free will increases intelligence. Carrying them around everywhere with you to keep them safe creates allelomimetic lemmings.[/citation]

yea babying your kid is bad, but you sure as hell didnt have kids stealing money for things marketed directly to them 50-60 years ago, but somehow you do now...

i do believe its parents fault, and to some extent society.

this will be the sentence to get me down voted, but im all for parents being able to hit the living crap out of their kids.

i have a brother who i cant say what he is like here due to sanctions i would get, but what do you imagine hitler was like as a kid... that is my brother. he needs to be hit, but parents and society wont do it. he has proved over the last 6 years that he cant learn from yelling and the more recent forms of punishment...

i believe many kids are like him, uncontrollable by any other means.

im not saying break their bones, or hit them when you are stressed, but some just cant learn without it.

 

[eiskrystal]

I am wondering how children are supposed to handle money if they never learn what is and is not a good deal and their parents give them access to unlimited funds from their own accounts. This is 95% bad parenting and 5% dodgy advertising.

Sorry, but the buy extras model is pretty common now especially in games. Maybe parents should actually take some time to find out what their kids are actually doing instead of whining that the big bad companies are daring to advertise to their little darlings.

 

[eiskrystal]

i believe many kids are like him, uncontrollable by any other means.

Then you lack imagination.

 

[neiroatopelcc]

[citation][nom]alvine[/nom]wow when i was 13 i was playing outside[/citation]
I wasn't. I was playing doom on my 386SX25

 

[cobot]

[citation][nom]eiskrystal[/nom]I am wondering how children are supposed to handle money if they never learn what is and is not a good deal and their parents give them access to unlimited funds from their own accounts. This is 95% bad parenting and 5% dodgy advertising.Sorry, but the buy extras model is pretty common now especially in games. Maybe parents should actually take some time to find out what their kids are actually doing instead of whining that the big bad companies are daring to advertise to their little darlings.[/citation]


If I would have stolen money from my parents as a kid, dad would have slapped me hard enough to send me flying through the wall. Then mum would have slapped me back into the room again.

The thing is that they never did have to hit me during my childhood. They raised me in a way that made me love and respect them and their authority enough to never behave like this.

 

[cobot]

Commented the wrong post, was supposed to be the hitting kids post....

 

[ewood]

[citation][nom]LORD_ORION[/nom]It would be if the 900 number was a trojan in a kid targeted app, that then initiated the transaction with a "Want more cool stuff" button.This is pretty much what is happening... the impulsive "buy more stuff now" buttons are being obfuscated in apps intentionally targeting kids who don't know any better.Also F all of you with this hover mom and dad mentality. Kids suffocated in bubble wrap by their idiotic baby-boomer parents have created generations of inept brain function kids.True fact, letting you babies roam of their own free will increases intelligence. Carrying them around everywhere with you to keep them safe creates allelomimetic lemmings.[/citation]

hahaha I agree, parents should let kids wander around and explore all kinds of stuff. But when they screw up and buy $68 worth of coins on farmville their parents should make it extremely clear they fu*kd up so they know its not acceptable.

 

[eddieroolz]

Perhaps parents shouldn't allow children to use the credit card, eh...

 

[11796pcs]

Why shouldn't kids be allowed to buy virtual currency using credit cards? Yes, some kids use credit cards without speaking to their parents first but I see no reason why a responsible kid who asks their parents for the use of their credit card to make a purchase should be prevented from buying some stupid credits. Are they going to block the use of prepaid cards by minors as well? Step up to the plate parents and stop blaming the media for what is happening to your children.

 

[Guest]

Well here we go again.......somebody trying to get. Money from a company because they feel they can get some..............please don't make a fool of yourself.........facebook has a lot better lawyers than you could ever afford...........its not their first rodeo you know...............shame on you.......your child will learn this behavior...........is that something to be proud of..............?