Facebook Sued For Selling Virtual Currency To Kids

The mother of an underage Facebook user has sued the company for allegedly refusing to refund money that her son spent on virtual currency for the in-app game Ninja Saga. Arizona resident Glynnis Bohannon says in her lawsuit that her son ran up hundreds of dollars purchasing Facebook Credits for use in Ninja Saga. She says she initially allowed her son to charge $20 on her MasterCard for the Facebook Credits. But after that first transaction, her son, identified in court papers as "I.B.," made hundreds of dollars’ worth of additional in-game purchases. She doesn't provide her son's age in the complaint, except to say he's a minor. Bohannon alleges that the social networking service didn't initially specify that it would store her credit card information. She adds that I.B. "thought he was expending virtual, in-game currency" on his subsequent purchases. She adds in her complaint that she left a telephone message with Facebook about the charges, but hasn't yet received a refund. Bohannon also says she wasn't able to find an email address for someone who could deal with her complaint.