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Just don't save payment card information in your Facebook account which you share with an irresponsible minor. If you primarily blame Facebook for this problem,

Just don't save payment card information in your Facebook account which you share with an irresponsible minor. If you primarily blame Facebook for this problem, you are failing as a parent. The fact that it is technically possible for Facebook to validate some purchases and prevent some instances of this problem does not make it Facebook's responsibility not to do something practically equivalent to handing your wallet to a toddler at a carnival.

NeedMoreTea 8y ago
Ah yes, blame the parents. A 9% chargeback rate on payments identified from minors is an awful lot of careless parents. The real fraud rate would be a lot higher as plenty might write it off to experience come credit card bill. Quite often these things are remarkably difficult to cancel too (no idea if that applies to Facebook). The fact is many of these ongoing payments, and the use of separate game currencies rather than simple $1.99 are deliberately unclear, even to fully clued up adults. That's rather the whole point of them.
- microcolonel 8y ago
  > The fact is many of these ongoing payments, and the use of separate game currencies rather than simple $1.99 are deliberately unclear, even to fully clued up adults. That's rather the whole point of them. Well, so are amusement park tickets. That doesn't mean you are absolved of responsibility for controlling your cash when you go to an amusement park.
  - empath75 8y ago
    If your toddler tried to use your credit card at an amusement park to buy $500 worth of cotton candy I imagine the person at the counter would not process it.
    - justtopost 8y ago
      That is a perfect illustration. Facebook is the cornerstore that will sell your kid 500 in toys and comic books, only to upsell them a pack of camels from my checkout display. It's cool, we already have your daddys credit card from last time, and he said we could use if for his future transactions. And because you are clearly a young child, lacking agency, I will bill him. Yet I will refuse to refund it when dad comes in later. Did I mention I am selling access to your data, also webcams!? Its goddamn terrifying we let it get this far.

NeedMoreTea 8y ago

Ah yes, blame the parents. A 9% chargeback rate on payments identified from minors is an awful lot of careless parents. The real fraud rate would be a lot higher as plenty might write it off to experience come credit card bill. Quite often these things are remarkably difficult to cancel too (no idea if that applies to Facebook). The fact is many of these ongoing payments, and the use of separate game currencies rather than simple $1.99 are deliberately unclear, even to fully clued up adults. That's rather the whole point of them.

microcolonel 8y ago
> The fact is many of these ongoing payments, and the use of separate game currencies rather than simple $1.99 are deliberately unclear, even to fully clued up adults. That's rather the whole point of them. Well, so are amusement park tickets. That doesn't mean you are absolved of responsibility for controlling your cash when you go to an amusement park.
- empath75 8y ago
  If your toddler tried to use your credit card at an amusement park to buy $500 worth of cotton candy I imagine the person at the counter would not process it.
  - justtopost 8y ago
    That is a perfect illustration. Facebook is the cornerstore that will sell your kid 500 in toys and comic books, only to upsell them a pack of camels from my checkout display. It's cool, we already have your daddys credit card from last time, and he said we could use if for his future transactions. And because you are clearly a young child, lacking agency, I will bill him. Yet I will refuse to refund it when dad comes in later. Did I mention I am selling access to your data, also webcams!? Its goddamn terrifying we let it get this far.