Valve Corporation has always been rather strict in their policies, and even though a number of users have had their concerned regarding the way Steam is run, they didn’t do much to change it. They did try to introduce a new refunds policy but it looks like people are pissed beyond that.
It has been reported that on the basis of user complaints that have been made against them, a French consumer association named UFC Que Choisir has sued them. The association usually files lawsuits on behalf of the end users to ensure consumer rights are being met, and it seems the owners of Steam haven’t been doing enough in their eyes.
There are a number of things that UFC Que Choisir has outlined for which they are going up against the company including lack of responsibility in the case of hacking, ownership claims by Valve Corporation for user created content, taking over money in banned accounts and so on.
However, the most important part of the whole issue is that the company is imposing Luxembourgian laws upon people in France. Here’s a rundown on the key points (translation courtesy, Reddit) that they are putting forward:
- Steam’s Subscriber Agreement explicitly forbids users to sell their games, despite the transfer of ownership of digital products/licenses being legal.
- Valve declines responsibility in the event that users’ personal information is stolen.
- Valve claims ownership of the rights of any user-created content uploaded to Steam.
- It is impossible to get the money on your Steam Wallet back if your account is closed/deleted/banned.
- Valve applies Luxembourg’s consumer law regardless of the user’s country.
Do keep in mind that this is not the first time Valve Corporation has been sued on the basis of their practices and policies. Some of the earlier claims have failed while others resulted in changes like the new refund policy.
