The Supreme Court of Canada approves the class action lawsuit of a group of parents against Epic Games and Fortnite. Parents allege that their children neither eat nor sleep because of the video game.
It is not the first time (nor will it be the last) that they compare video games with drugs. The problem is that, by surprise, the Canadian authorities class action lawsuit approved of a group of parents against Fortnite and its managers, Epic Games, in Quebec (Canada).
Perhaps you remember the original news, dating from 2019, in which we told you how this group of Canadian parents compared Fortnite to cocaine or tobacco.
The reason? Well, your children They don’t eat, sleep or shower., and spend hours playing Fortnite. Nor is it the first time that controversy has arisen around Epic Games Battle Royale.
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Not only that, but, as reflected in the medium CTV, Young hundreds of dollars have been spent on additional content for the game through the Fortnite store.
Epic Games is aware that it will have to fight in court to win the case. The Supreme Court has approved the class action lawsuit filed by attorney Alessandria Esposito Chartrand.
One more demand for Fortnite
Three years have passed since these Quebec-based parents decided to sue Epic Games for the “addictive” nature of the video game Fortnite. A few months ago, in July, they explained to Judge Sylvain Lussier the issue behind the class action.
The children of these parents have given up their daily routines (eating, showering, sleeping) just to endlessly play Fortnite. Apparently, one of the boys exceeds 7780 hours played in two years.
From the Quebec court they understand that the lawsuit “it is neither frivolous nor is it unfounded”, accusing Epic Games of knowing how addictive their game is, without acting on it to fix it.
The company headed by Tim Sweeney alleges that to make purchases in the Fortnite store you need the authorization of an adult (if it is set up with parental controls), and that there is no proof that the game is addictive.
This is what the sentence of the judge in Quebec includes:
”The court understands that there is a serious issue to discuss, backed by sufficient evidence and the concrete complaint of the existence of risks and even dangers that are proliferating among those who play Fortnite.”.
However, the Supreme Court of Canada considers that there is insufficient evidence to determine that Epic is aware of the possible damage that its game can cause, rejecting that comparison of the video game with drugs.
The lawyer, Alessandria Esposito Chartrand, does not think the same, who this time has compared Fortnite and Epic Games with tobacco and companies in the sector.
”The terms of our lawsuit are closely modeled on the terms of the anti-tobacco actions” says the lawyer in the case.
Below you can see the formal response from Epic Games (via Business Insider):
”Parents can receive reports on the amount of time their children play the title per week, and parental consent is required each time something is to be purchased from the game store. We will fight it in court. We believe that the evidence will show that this case is unfounded’‘.
For now class action lawsuit filed by parents wins, and it remains to be seen if they manage to win the case. We remind you that in the original news (from 2019) you can find out more details.
What do you think about this new controversy surrounding Fortnite? As parents, do you think there are enough tools to avoid these cases that affect the youngest? Fortnite is one of the most popular games in the industry, available on PC, mobile, and all consoles.
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