Key Takeaways
- The UK OFT has launched a consultation on eight principles which it seeks to establish to determine social gaming’s compliance with UK law.
- The principles were motivated by a study of social games which are attractive to children.
- Of primary concern is the issue of clarity and fairness when cash payments are required for participation or in game purchases.
- Responses are required by November 21.
The OFT is not seeking to ban in-game purchases, but the games industry must ensure it is complying with the relevant regulations so that children are protected.
The UK Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has launched a consultation on a set of “Principles for online and app-based games.” The principles are set out in an annex to a report on “Children’s Online Games.”
The initial investigation, begun in April this year, set out to look into the ways in which online and app-based games encourage children to make purchases. The OFT was particularly concerned about “commercial practices that may be considered misleading, aggressive or otherwise unfair.”
