Jack Thompson to file lawsuit against Best Buy for selling M-rated games through website

Posted Oct 23, 2007 at 1:46PM by QJ Staff Listed in: News, Titles Tags: Best Buy, Fox News, Jack Thompson
Ó


Controversial Florida Attorney Jack Thompson - Image 1Jack Thompson's "secret shopper" ploy along with his credit card-toting 15-year-old son continues. Thompson has recently given out a statement that he will file a lawsuit against Best Buy today for charges of selling M-rated games indiscriminately to minors in their online store.

Thompson will use Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act as his trump card to use against the retail sales mogul Best Buy. The controversial lawyer drafted a letter addressed to Best Buy's corporate counsel, part of which reads as:

Best Buy, despite promises made to the American people and to me personally, has continued to sell Mature-rated video games to children under seventeen years of age. Best Buy has been doing this at its cash registers here in Miami, Florida, and it is presently doing so, this very moment, at www.bestbuy.com, as it sells Mature-rated games to anyone of any age with no real age verification whatsoever.


At this point it should be noted that according to the Federal Trade Commission, the mere use of a credit card is already an acceptable proof that the buyer is of 18 years of age, since most teenagers under 17 years cannot be issued credit cards.

How will ole' Jack Thompson fare this time? It looks like he is indeed on a roll, what with his recent plea to ban Manhunt 2 through Fox News. Do stay tuned for more updates!

Via Game Politics

 
 
 

Comments [refresh]

by GW2 - 2007-10-23 08:17
» most people under 18 dont have credit cards id call that age verification.

ya what i said above lol.

by Korlithiel - 2007-10-23 08:25
» Hrmm hmmm

I somehow doubt that the case will mean much since those under 18 can't be issued credit cards and that since his son had permission to buy the games with that credit card then in this case there was no breach of law.



More importantly, I wonder if debit cards and those pre-paid credit cards work to use as identification. If so, then really anyone with cash can buy mature games through the web and that would get Best Buy into trouble.

by Missa - 2007-10-23 08:57
» more thoughts along the same vein

His kid can only have a credit card from 1 of 2 ways. Either his father (or mother i guess) co-signed for him and is the legal holder OR they used a pre-paid credit card from a store, of which you agree you are 18 or older automatically by using it.



Further his father asked him to buy the game, so that is parental consent. People all too often forget, just like Jackyboy that parents can consent for their children. No laws were broken.

by HakatoX - 2007-10-23 09:43
» this does leave grounds for a counter suit if not dissbarment

keep digging that hole deeper Jackie boi ..

you have just lead yourself wide open for suites from best buy , internet provider(net abuse) the supreme court is definitely gonna look down on him for this because he is using entrapment to gain case action.



dig that hole Jackie Boy ... dig it real deep



and if crack head jack wants to battle wits he can email this name @gmail.com

by iamback(unregistered) - 2007-10-23 10:47
» ...

What's the difference between Jack Thompson and a catfish?







































One's a bottom

dwelling scum sucker and the other's a fish.

by Highsight - 2007-10-23 10:53
» EXACTLY!

Thank god SOMEONE gets this, now if we could just pound it into Jack Thompson's thick skull, maybe the world can finally live in love and peace.... and violence. >+3

by i3obtl - 2007-10-23 10:57
» Jack is retarded

Where does the real responsibility lie? If Jack is sending his kid off to buy crap, doesn't that mean he also had Jack permission? I'd say yes. So dad tells kid to get online and use his card to buy an M rated game. That sounds like Jack's issue.

We all know he's sitting at home playing Gears of War and Resistance any way.

I think I spotted him on the ranking charts at #10 for most hours played. lol

by Binary - 2007-10-23 11:07
» god

Don't this *****er ever give up.





hes going to wind up getting shot for being annoying ***** like he is. Drama person that wants to be on tv all the time.

by mrgrim94 - 2007-10-23 11:31
» illegal much

he had his son commit identity theft... by using jacks credit card unless he dad permission from jack well then that would mean an you would adult to buy the game, which brings us back to buying it in store hell a 5 year old can buy it if theres someone over 18 present

by TheJackThompson - 2007-10-23 11:37
» lol.

geez, the real Jack Thompson (not me) is a freakin idiot. he came to best buy with his son and they let him buy it. course they did....

by ActionHenk - 2007-10-23 12:12
» nice

Ok so in the next years we will see parrents sueing tv channels for showing m rated movie,s that their kids can see at home, without a system that checks their age





can someone please kill this guy ? i mean their are so many people that kill people and blame it on a game they have played, why not just this guy ?

by Snoppydude - 2007-10-23 12:18
» Jack Thompson is a troll.

JT is a troll. Just as bad as a fanboy defending his point of view with no real point to make.



He shouldn't even be giving his son a credit card in the first place. That's the main way to verify age. If it wasn't for that, you would NEVER be able to sell M-Rated games to anyone online. Unless everybody just happed to have a digital copy of their ID, a web cam attached to their computer and someone on the other side verifying that the person on the other end was the person in the picture ID.



Not impossible, just ridiculous.

by i3obtl - 2007-10-23 12:20
» kill Jack?

Well, I'm all for it, but there is only one problem. Some SOB would join the "fight" against violence in video games because old Jack was "right"

So, you see, we can't kill him. Luckily, he'll probably get his in a car accident because of road rage caused by traffic. Now there is some anger and aggression far beyond video games.

Hey Jack, pick that one up. Start the ban on cars, they are too violent.

by Onimushaclan - 2007-10-23 12:23
» hmm

dont u have to be over 18 to buy online?

by mikekearn - 2007-10-23 12:25
» Unbelievable

Does he actually think anyone will take him seriously anymore? Everything he does just reeks of idiocy. Surely he's lost all credibility through the dozens if not hundreds of similar claims he's made, all on shaky or outright false evidence. At best.

by iamback(unregistered) - 2007-10-23 13:24
» PS3

The PS3 is so cool because it has really good graphics, and it plays bluray. Because the graphics are good, and because it plays bluray, it's automatically better than the 360 and Wii! And because the Wii isn't expensive, it's only a toy. And because the Wii doesn't even play DVDs, it automatically sucks as a console, because only consoles that play DVDs are good for games.



(joke. Imitating a troll. Acting like Jack Thompson)

by iamback(unregistered) - 2007-10-23 13:26
» no

No, that won't work. He'll come back as a zombie, and blame the other guy, saying that his opponent played too much need for speed most wanted....



Dang. We just can't win with this guy. I think secretly as a kid, he got ahold of pong, and sucked at it, so nobody liked him. And now, every night he tries to play Starcraft to show that he has skills, but he keeps getting owned by zergling rushes. So, he takes out his frustrations on other people.

by Kaneco - 2007-10-23 13:42
» Exactly

it went through my mind even before I read

that last bit. >_>

by tourchman911 - 2007-10-23 14:42
» stupid

i went threw the steps and ot asked my to varify to say that i am 17 or older wene i tried to purchase Halo 3. So he is gay.

by platon - 2007-10-23 15:42
» what an idiot, you need a credit card to buy online..

So if you have one, you asked somebody. It's the same in real, you can ask your parents or older friends to buy games for you! Dah!

by akuma2099 - 2007-10-23 16:20
» About the credit card thing

Well I was 16 when I first got a credit card it was a Discover card I believe. It only had a 2,500 credit limit but that was a lot to a 16yr old. I didn't use it that much and this was 15yrs ago so maybe the laws have changed since then. All I know is I wasn't 18 when I got a credit card I just had a job and the credit card company sent me one I didn't even apply for it.



Anyway Jakie boy seems to be advertising for Best Buy, it's like he's saying "hey kids go to www.bestbuy.com you can buy mature rated games without your parents permission. Also dragging Halo into his little nut job of a world is not a smart idea. Messing with R*/Take Two is one thing but I wouldn't advise invoking the wrath of Microsoft but that's just me.

by mike_jmg - 2007-10-23 18:30
» Ass

Please somebody give him a Life

by Kaden - 2007-10-23 20:29
» wow

what a douchebag.

by InterNutter - 2007-10-23 21:36
» I wish some harm will come to Jack Thompson

Now dont get me wrong, i never wish this on anyone else but this man really p**s's me off, why wont he let us play want we want to play and when will he get that if a kid wants to play a game they will find a way to play it no matter what he does, some of us work very hard and risk losing family to create these games only to have some a**hole come along and try to get it banned, i really hate him and i dont hate anyone and i hope he sees this and know how much damage he is doing.

by Mister Common Sense - 2007-10-23 23:25
» go for it Jack!

I hate best buy. Since he is criminally annoying, he might as well screw with a company that deserves it for once, even if it is some BS reason.

by xche78x - 2007-10-24 00:42
» question

how did you pass the bar exam?

by Koru-Kun - 2007-10-24 01:48
» Let's review, shall we?

Let's see, the online "age verification" stated that YOU, Jack Thompson purchased the Bioshock game, not your son. It's your own name on the credit card, and it's YOUR fault for giving it to him. Best Buy's online store did nothing wrong, it was YOU that did something wrong in letting your under age son use your credit card.



Minors can't get credit cards, yet you still blame Best Buy online for letting minors purchase mature games without age verification? How far are you absorbed in your own tiny mentally challenged world, Jack?



I can agree with you about the actual in-store purchases not asking for age verification, but your whole online arguement BS is completely asinine and childish. If you are going to fight for something, do it HONESTLY... not foolishly.

by Hekynn - 2007-10-24 02:45
» GRRRR

JT get a freaking life! You will never ever ever ever beat big companys like Bestbuy and Microsoft hahaha!

by JaXeRiR - 2007-10-24 03:49
» Yeah!!!

Jack Thompson is damn right! You under-aged scums should NOT let play GTA, Manhunt or even Halo! Grow up and then play! Thompson is right, no-one should be let to buy Manhunt 2, it should be banned worldwide! Kids, I have noticed that when a little kid of age 9-12 (like you) plays something like Sonic or Mario, he comes really aggressive and tries to kill anyone he encounters.



BAN ALL GAMES FROM UNDERAGED KIDS, EVEN BETTER: BAN ALL GAMES FROM EVERYONE!!!! THAT SHOULD STOP ALL THOSE SCHOOL SLAUGHTERS, CAR ACCIDENTS AND EVERYTHING BAD IN THE WORLD!!!







































[/sarcasm] lol

by Ranguvar - 2007-10-24 14:23
» ...

Key word in Thompson's idiotic speech is "real" age verification. He doesn't consider credit card verification "real". Too bad. Parent's fault for not making sure their kid can't/won't steal their credit card, not Best Buy's fault.



But anyways, let's not diss gays by lumping a b**tard like Thompson in with them.

by ktm101xxx - 2007-10-24 15:50
» none

i wouldnt throw a catfish back?

Add comment

Security code
Refresh

Add QJ.NET
Add to My Yahoo!
Google Reader Subscribe with Bloglines
Add  to your Kinja digest Subscribe in NewsGator Online
Subscribe with Pluck RSS reader Add 'www.qj.net' to Newsburst from CNET News.com
Subscribe with SearchFox RSS del.icio.us www.qj.net
Add to Technorati Favorite! Add to My AOL
furl! it Stumble for Treehugger!