Carlton Fields’ Esports Attorneys Quoted in LegalTechNews: Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities in Video Gaming Industry

Esports and Electronic Gaming   |   Cybersecurity and Privacy   |   August 19, 2019

Carlton Fields’ Esports practice co-chairs, Steven Blickensderfer and Nick Brown, were quoted in a LegalTechNews news article regarding cyber threats in the video gaming industry. Brown shared: “If we are seeing cybersecurity issues in all industries, from retail to places that you don’t think of as focused on the electronic sphere, then it’s no surprise it’s more concentrated in a new and strongly technology-based industry.” The article also touched on the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), and how video gaming companies could be subject to penalties for noncompliance.
 
Blickensderfer added that game streaming platforms could be subject to COPPA. “I think [the streaming platforms], knowing COPPA could apply to them, they only allow certain users to have an account to process and collect their information without having COPPA apply to them. What you’ll find is these organizations are screening and have users that are above a certain age.” He noted that there could be significant penalties if the Federal Trade Commission finds a company isn’t COPPA-compliant.
 
READ: LegalTechNews “Fortnite Breach Suit Highlights Video Games' Oversized Cyber Vulnerabilities” (Possible paywall)