Casual Gamers Beware!
You know that casual gaming is on the upswing when Facebook gamers initiate class action lawsuits on the basis of "misleading ads" associated with social games that use Facebook as a platform. In November of 2009, Rebecca Swift filed a class action lawsuit against Facebook and Zynga (the latter being a developer of social games on Facebook and MySpace). Allegedly, Ms. Swift ordered a "risk free" trial of green tea supplements in order to obtain "YoCash" (virtual currency) to "buy" various in-game items for use in Zynga's YoVille. Ms. Swift claims that when she attempted to cancel the order within the "risk free" trial period, the supplier of the supplements failed to honour her request and her credit card was charged.
Ms. Swift has since dropped the lawsuit against Facebook, but is continuing with her action against Zynga.
There is an obvious moral in all of this for social game aficionados that are concerned about being possibly ripped off by "misleading ads": stop playing social games, not so much because of the possibility of liability, but more so because they suck. Do yourself a favour and pick up a 360 or a PS3.
Coverage at Industry Gamers