I.B. ex rel. Bohannon v. Facebook, Inc.

*1118 ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR CLASS CERTIFICATION

[Re: ECF 82]

As teenagers’ use of online social media has become ubiquitous, juvenile behaviors that previously occurred offline have migrated onto the Internet. One such behavior — a minor spending a parent’s money without permission — gives rise to this case.

Defendant Facebook, like many Internet companies, permits its users, including minors, to make purchases through its website. The named minor Plaintiffs in this case, I.B. and J.W., both spent a parent’s money without permission over Facebook, in slightly different ways: I.B. asked his mother for $20 to make purchases in a game called “Ninja Saga,” but then spent more than he was permitted; while J.W. took his parent’s debit card without permission and began making purchases. As parents across the United States know all too well, such situations are not unique to purchases made over the Internet.

Now, these two minors seek to invoke the protections of century-old protections enshrined in California law, which recognize that minors will occasionally use their lack of judgment to enter into contractual relationships and later…