The war is on against virtual currency in Europe.
The Norwegian Consumer Council released a 56-page report claiming that virtual currency such as V-Bucks and Robux “breach EU consumer protection laws,” announcing their partnership with 21 consumer organizations across Europe to petition the EU to outlaw the practice.
The report, titled “Getting played: the true cost of virtual currency,” makes the case that virtual currency obscures the monetary value of in-game items, which along with other reasons makes the practice “predatory and harmful to consumers.”
“With the introduction of premium virtual currencies, video game companies have essentially been able to design in-game monetary systems where they set all the terms,” the report reads. “They can change the values at any time, and the consumer has no property rights. This is deeply problematic, because it deprives consumers of rights that would be in place if they were spending real-world money.”
The report accuses multiple games of using virtual currency in a predatory way, including Minecraft, Roblox, Fortnite and Clash of Clans. It argues that the practices violate existing EU laws surrounding consumer transparency laws.
The 21 consumer organizations which the Norwegian Consumer Council announced they partnered with come from 17 different European Countries, although the report does not list which countries those are.






Leave a comment