Federal court says Epic can go ahead with its lawsuit against teen

[Capaill]

A little butthurt over me calling it a stupid game? All games are stupid.

Your implication was that the game is stupid because it has no value compared to the child. My response was that you don't get to take on a multi-million dollar product and walk away unscathed just because it's some dumb kid. The kid threatened the company's profits so the kid (or rather his parents) are going to get butthurt.

I think this is taken to an extreme, but the idea is there.

Yes, I tend to exaggerate Perhaps 40K would be more appropriate.

 

[Cycloid Torus]

Imagine: People being held accountable for their actions. Now we will have to go through a age verification check every time we agree to an EULA.
Find in favor of the plaintiff. Don't let the kid off with a technicality. Don't destroy the kid, but make it painful enough to remember. Learn the lesson.

Agreed. I was thinking that an order removing all graphics cards from household systems for a couple of years might be appropriate.

 

[Someone8MyPosts]

Kid creates cheat for online game. Kid uploads cheat to youtube and tells everyone about it. Youtube pulls cheat video, kid re-uploads cheat video. Epic sues kid, Mother gets pissed and says you can't sue kids. Court rules that case can go forward because the child wants to hid behind the EULA saying he was unable to agree to it since he was underage. But he was also not supposed to modify the game in any way.

Well the company put years and millions into making an online game that is fun for people to play. Kid wants to cheat and have others cheat so they can have fun and ruin the experience for other people.

Guess what companies have the ability to protect the products they create. It's an investment for them. After playing countless games that are ruined by cheaters. I say this is good and should set an example for other cheaters out there. It's one reason I've moved to consoles. Way to many cheaters on pc. Not that there isn't cheating on console but the people get banned pretty quickly.

This is generally why companies need to invest in protecting against cheating, catching & preventing cheating means companies need to actually develop technology to prevent it but im guessing suing a kid who developed a cheat is cheaper than hiring that kid or developing anti cheat methods. Potentially destroying this kids reasons for legit play and possibly his future.

Now, you're proposing circling back to something that in the end prevented legitimate game owners and players from enjoying their experiences through DRM and anti-cheat software that ends up doing more than what it's intended to.

 

[Someone8MyPosts]

Sounds like the parent is trying to claim ignorance of the child’s behavior. Ignorance is not a valid defense in criminal law, shouldn’t be in this case, either. Parent should be aware of what their child is doing online, because ultimately the parent is responsible for the consequences of whatever mischief their child is doing online. Judgment for the plaintiff, Epic. Parent will also have to pay attorneys fees for the plaintiff. Ouch. Lesson learned, parents, monitor your kids online activities, should be a no-brainer.

I agree that the child/parent should get some form of fine or whatever, but you can't watch kid's 100% of the time, most parents don't have the technical know-how to monitor what their kids are doing online, companies have made it far too easy to get inappropriate content into kids' hands (Steam is a good example). It's a bit like saying because your kid walked down the street a few blocks and managed to get drugs from a pusher that that's completely within the parent's control. As for not letting kids be online at all argument, that's weak. They have to be able to function in the world they live, to include being able to work with the technology around them. Otherwise, you may as well not let anyone drive or use anything with electricity. It's not always that clear cut.

 

[HyPeroxya]

This will ultimately get thrown out. The legal standard has always been those under the age of 18 can't enter into legal contracts, and misrepresenting yourself as over 18 doesn't suddenly create a situation by which you can be opted in to liability for a contract you couldn't legally enter into. Why? Because the whole reason you can't enter into a contract under the age of 18 is because the doctrine is that you can't fully understand what you're signing up for. In that same vein, if you're under the age of 18, you don't understand the consequences of misrepresenting your age. It's plain common sense.


The only reason this case hasn't already been tossed is because the mother is ignoring the lawsuit, and only went so far as to send a "letter". The moment she hires a competent attorney, this case goes away, regardless of what one federal judge says. If there's one thing we've learned during "The Trump Years", it's that federal judges very frequently make decisions that go against the law and are ultimately overturned.

A few rounds of Giant arse invasion should set him straight ....

 

[Camikazi]

Kid creates cheat for online game. Kid uploads cheat to youtube and tells everyone about it. Youtube pulls cheat video, kid re-uploads cheat video. Epic sues kid, Mother gets pissed and says you can't sue kids. Court rules that case can go forward because the child wants to hid behind the EULA saying he was unable to agree to it since he was underage. But he was also not supposed to modify the game in any way.

Well the company put years and millions into making an online game that is fun for people to play. Kid wants to cheat and have others cheat so they can have fun and ruin the experience for other people.

Guess what companies have the ability to protect the products they create. It's an investment for them. After playing countless games that are ruined by cheaters. I say this is good and should set an example for other cheaters out there. It's one reason I've moved to consoles. Way to many cheaters on pc. Not that there isn't cheating on console but the people get banned pretty quickly.

This is generally why companies need to invest in protecting against cheating, catching & preventing cheating means companies need to actually develop technology to prevent it but im guessing suing a kid who developed a cheat is cheaper than hiring that kid or developing anti cheat methods. Potentially destroying this kids reasons for legit play and possibly his future.

You think it is easy to create unbreakable anti-cheat code? You don't seem to understand that new anti-cheat code is just a challenge to hackers. You can't account for everything that a hacker might try so you can only make it difficult but not impossible. You can put billions into anti-cheat and still have it broken by some obscure and hard to think of hack that you missed.

 

[CanonC]

I agree that the child/parent should get some form of fine or whatever, but you can't watch kid's 100% of the time, most parents don't have the technical know-how to monitor what their kids are doing online, companies have made it far too easy to get inappropriate content into kids' hands (Steam is a good example). It's a bit like saying because your kid walked down the street a few blocks and managed to get drugs from a pusher that that's completely within the parent's control. As for not letting kids be online at all argument, that's weak. They have to be able to function in the world they live, to include being able to work with the technology around them. Otherwise, you may as well not let anyone drive or use anything with electricity. It's not always that clear cut.

Ok, I’ll use your example. Let’s say the child walked down the street and lights a house on fire. Who you think is gonna be responsible? I’m not saying it’s totally fair, but it is what it is. So it becomes incumbent on the parent to get involved, technical know-how or not. A parent should monitor what their kids are doing online by paying attention, asking questions, and limiting internet access. Ya know like, for ex, “hey what are you doing posting videos to YouTube?’’.....seems like incredibly irresponsible parenting not to.

 

[misor]

The only legal defense left is: My Mom did it, not me!

 

[Knot Schure]

Kid creates cheat for online game. Kid uploads cheat to youtube and tells everyone about it. Youtube pulls cheat video, kid re-uploads cheat video. Epic sues kid, Mother gets pissed and says you can't sue kids. Court rules that case can go forward because the child wants to hid behind the EULA saying he was unable to agree to it since he was underage. But he was also not supposed to modify the game in any way.

Well the company put years and millions into making an online game that is fun for people to play. Kid wants to cheat and have others cheat so they can have fun and ruin the experience for other people.

Guess what companies have the ability to protect the products they create. It's an investment for them. After playing countless games that are ruined by cheaters. I say this is good and should set an example for other cheaters out there. It's one reason I've moved to consoles. Way to many cheaters on pc. Not that there isn't cheating on console but the people get banned pretty quickly.

For the same reason - I'd like to move to consoles also, where I originally was... but alas I am a road warrior, and gone are the days of business and first class tickets, so traveling weight is an issue for me, so its PC gaming for me. No choice.