Developer of ‘Paw Patrol,’ ‘Bluey’ Apps Facing Class Action Suit Over Allegedly Deceptive In-Game Marketing Tactics

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A proposed class action lawsuit alleges the developer of children’s mobile apps based on popular animated series such as “Paw Patrol” and “Bluey” has deployed manipulative tactics to get kids hooked and drive paid subscriptions and in-app purchases.

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The 58-page lawsuit against Budge Studios, Inc. claims the company’s apps, reportedly downloaded over two billion times worldwide, are intentionally designed to exploit the vulnerabilities of their young target audience through deceptive “dark patterns” that trick or manipulate users into playing longer or spending money in the games.

Although Budge Studios consistently touts that the free-to-download apps are educational, harmless and appropriate for toddlers and young children, the case alleges the apps—Paw Patrol Rescue World; Bluey: Let’s Play; Hello Kitty Nail Salon; Strawberry Shortcake Bake Shop; Barbie Dreamhouse Adventures and Caillou Check Up: Doctor Visit—are effectively “full-length advertisements disguised as children’s games.”

As the complaint tells it, the in-game advertising is particularly problematic because the apps are targeted at children, who are virtually incapable of distinguishing between media content and marketing. Kids are therefore more vulnerable to “stealth advertising,” or marketing tactics whose commercial nature is disguised, the filing says.

The suit charges that the apps “prey[] upon a child’s innate sense of trust” by using characters they are familiar with and even view as friends to promote in-game purchases, which are required to advance or continue gameplay.

“The manipulative impact of stealth marketing is exacerbated for young children when fictional characters—with whom children form trusting parasocial relationships—are deployed to pressure in-app purchases,” the class action lawsuit charges.

According to the case, the apps rely on the so-called “freemium” model, in which only a limited version of the game is free. The complaint contends that the apps are designed to get kids addicted by offering a variety of exciting front-end rewards, prizes or advantages, which become increasingly difficult to access without enrolling in a monthly subscription or paying to unlock new characters or features. For example, a subscription to Budge Studios’ flagship game, Paw Patrol Rescue World, costs $9.99 per month, but users are also encouraged to make one-time purchases during gameplay in order to play as certain “pups” from the series, the filing describes.

“Without making a purchase, the child is left to wander the digital wasteland of [Budge Studios’] app while facing a near constant barrage of stealth marketing and dark patterns, largely in the form of their favorite characters guilting and coercing them, or fun-looking locations that have doors barred to non-paying visitors,” the lawsuit asserts.

In addition, the suit claims, gameplay is frequently interrupted by advertisements and pop-ups that are difficult to navigate away from, especially for young children with developing motor skills and limited technological know-how. The ads, which exclusively promote other Budge Studios games, often rely on “textbook” time-pressure tactics and imply that a “special offer” will be available for a limited time only, the case alleges.

The complaint argues that the app developer’s tactics are unfair and exploitative.

The filing claims that the company has misrepresented to parents that its apps are suitable for young children, who are, in reality, harmed and manipulated by the allegedly deceptive design techniques.

The Budge Studios lawsuit looks to represent any parents or legal guardians in California who, in the past four years, downloaded one of the apps listed on this page for their child and made in-app purchases, including enrolling in a subscription.

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