For years now we've heard tales of parents losing bundles of money due to the spending sprees of their children inside various apps. Before now, getting this money back had been a struggle, but as far as Facebook games are concerned at least, the disgruntled parents of the future - those living in California at any rate - will most likely have an easier time if their kids start spending money without permission.
Why? Because the ruling has now come in for a class action lawsuit filed back in 2012, in favour of parents aiming to make refunds easier to obtain. Facebook's lawyers argued that the children received exactly what they paid for when purchasing "Facebook Credits" (later changed to "Facebook Payments"), and that the company could not be held responsible for their actions. The plaintiffs on the other hand pointed out that these kids are minors that don't necessarily understand that they are spending their parents' money online.
According to The Guardian, the case was won primarily due to the legislation called "The Family Code", which voids contracts made with persons under the age of 18 in California. Because of the ruling Facebook will now have to design a system for refunding unlucky parents, but as far as we understand the Family Code legislation does not apply throughout the rest of the US or the world.