--- description: The company has so far refused to refund purchases made by children using their parent's credit or debit cards without permission title: Facebook Sued Over Purchases Made by Kids image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb77dbb80bf562fd4/698783450b72e3e5326de211/85595131.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Companies](/tag/companies/) ## Companies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Facebook Is Facing a Massive Lawsuit Over Online Purchases Made by Kids ## Video: How Social Media Can Tank Your Career [Watch (HLS stream): How Social Media Can Tank Your Career](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ZetPsIZy.m3u8) (4:12)  _Published 2015-03-11. Social media sites like Twitter and Facebook can be a powerful way to build your brand or destroy it._ by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 12, 2015 2:57 AM CUT  In this photo illustration the Social networking site Facebook is displayed on a laptop screen on March 25, 2009 in London, England. In this photo illustration the Social networking site Facebook is displayed on a laptop screen on March 25, 2009 in London, England.Dan Kitwood—Getty Images by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 12, 2015 2:57 AM CUT **Correction appended: 10:17 p.m. EST on Mar. 16** Facebook was ordered to face a [nationwide class-action lawsuit](http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/11/us-facebook-classaction-idUSKBN0M724720150311 "undefined") in the U.S. on Tuesday, over its refusal to provide refunds to parents whose children spent money on the website. A federal judge in San Jose, California ruled that hundreds of thousands of people across the country could legally claim refunds from the social network over its policy on online purchases by minors, Reuters reported. U.S. District Judge Beth Labson Freeman also said parents could not pursue refunds as a group, because each case would be different, but could do so individually. The suit was initiated in 2012 by two children and their parents, over purchases of the now discontinued virtual currency Facebook Credits made using the parents’ credit and debit cards. One child said his mother used her credit card to buy him a $20 game called Ninja Saga but was subsequently charged hundreds of dollars for what he thought were virtual currency purchases, while the other child racked up charges of $1,059 after taking his parents’ debit card without permission. “The difference between Facebook and other businesses is that the company is on actual notice of a user’s age, but treats children the same as adult users when it comes to taking their money,” said J.R. Parker, a lawyer for the plaintiffs. The lawsuit says Facebook violated state laws by refusing refunds under its “all sales are final” policy, to which the company responded by saying the claims were too disparate. It also said the lawsuit lacks merit, and that it will defend itself vigorously. \[[_Reuters_](http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/11/us-facebook-classaction-idUSKBN0M724720150311 "undefined")\] **Correction:** The original version of this story misstated when the lawsuit against Facebook was filed. It was filed in 2012. _Read next:_ [_Why Facebook Is Really Excited About Slow Internet_](http://time.com/3724162/facebook-bandwidth-mobile-ads/?iid=time%5Freadnext "undefined") [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/?sl%5Fautoplay=true&xid=spl-fullbrief-article "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3741644/facebook-online-purchases-kids-minors-lawsuit/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3741644/facebook-online-purchases-kids-minors-lawsuit/"},"headline":"Facebook Is Facing a Massive Lawsuit Over Online Purchases Made by Kids","datePublished":"2015-03-12T02:57:52.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:04:38.586Z","description":"The company has so far refused to refund purchases made by children without parental permission","url":"https://time.com/3741644/facebook-online-purchases-kids-minors-lawsuit/","keywords":["Companies","Tech","facebook","Lawsuit"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb77dbb80bf562fd4/698783450b72e3e5326de211/85595131.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rishi Iyengar","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb77dbb80bf562fd4/698783450b72e3e5326de211/85595131.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Social Networking Sites May Be Monitored By Security Services","caption":"Social Networking Sites May Be Monitored By Security Services","creditText":"Dan Kitwood—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/companies/","name":"Companies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3741644/facebook-online-purchases-kids-minors-lawsuit/","name":"Facebook Is Facing a Massive Lawsuit Over Online Purchases Made by Kids"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Facebook Is Planning Virtual Reality Apps For Everyone","description":"Facebook wants all its users to be able to create and upload content for virtual reality systems such as Oculus Rift.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/ncI9ZLvX/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-02-18T17:05:11.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ncI9ZLvX.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3741644/facebook-online-purchases-kids-minors-lawsuit/","duration":"PT1M49S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3741644/facebook-online-purchases-kids-minors-lawsuit/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"How Social Media Can Tank Your Career","description":"Social media sites like Twitter and Facebook can be a powerful way to build your brand or destroy it.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/ZetPsIZy/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-03-11T23:38:34.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ZetPsIZy.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3741644/facebook-online-purchases-kids-minors-lawsuit/","duration":"PT4M12S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3741644/facebook-online-purchases-kids-minors-lawsuit/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```