Earlier this week, the German Consumer Association of North Rhine-Westphalia brought up the idea of legal action against Sony, the popular entertainment giant, regarding the terms and conditions set forth for the PlayStation Network. This process began with a cease and desist letter sent to Sony, highlighting the sections of the aforementioned terms that were "incompatible with the law."

Two policies the association found to be hostile toward its customers deal with purchasing terms. On the PSN, any prepaid credit expires after 24 months if unspent, and Sony holds parents accountable for any costs created by underaged children spending money on microtransactions and the like. As usual, microtransactions are at the heart of controversy in the gaming community.

The final criticism goes against a Sony consumer's right of withdrawal which has no policy stating that the customer must explicitly agree to forgo this right with digital purchases. The German Consumer Association has stated that it will take it to court if the cease and desist is not followed, electing to pursue this to the highest courts if need be.

It's worth mentioning that this isn't the first legal action against the PSN terms and conditions. A Norwegian Consumer Council has previously filed a similar complaint against Sony but dropped it later. In contrast, it appears the German Consumer Association is ready to push this as far as it can, but as of now, Sony has not formally or publicly weighed in on the issue.

Of course, this isn't the only type of policy that has reflected negatively on the entertainment giant. It has, in recent weeks, been often criticized for its lack of support for cross-play, particularly with the wildly popular Fortnite. Although the company has recently explained why it chooses not to support cross-play on the PlayStation 4, a number of players disagree.

Tell us, Ranters, what do you think about Sony's Terms and Conditions?

Source: Gamesindustry.biz