Nintendo was notified by Procon-SP after updating the terms of the Nintendo account with clauses considered abusive. The consumer protection body gave the Japanese company 48 hours officially to speak out about the changes.
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Nintendo's new rules predict that, in cases of misuse, the company may block accounts or even render devices unusable. The changes were received with concern by experts in consumer law, who pointed to violations of the Consumer Protection Code (CDC).
Controversial clauses generate alert
According to Procon-SP, the updated contract allows Nintendo to unilaterally alter the conditions of the service, including cancellation of accounts and permanent deactivation of consoles. The text of the contract does not clearly define the criteria for these punishments, which opens gaps for arbitrariness.
Brazilian law considers any clause abusive that allows unilateral changes by the supplier. In Procon's understanding, this hurts consumers' basic rights, such as protection against unbalanced practices and the preservation of contractual good faith.
Another point questioned was the imposition of compulsory individual arbitration, which prevents consumers from moving collective actions against the company. The agency states that this condition disrespects Brazilian law, which ensures the consumer the right to choose the type of lawsuit he wants to move.
The ban on collective disputes was also interpreted as an attempt to weaken consumers' legal response, especially in situations that affect a larger number of users at the same time.
Poorly adapted translation raises suspicions
Users on social networks pointed out that Nintendo translated excerpts from the contract directly from US terms of use. An example is the mention of resolution of disputes “without jury”, something incompatible with the Brazilian legal system, where popular juries exist only for intentional crimes against life.
This detail suggests that Nintendo may have replicated the international clauses without considering the legal particularities of Brazil. For Procon-SP, this shows a lack of care for local consumers and reinforces the argument that the contract does not respect current legislation.
Also according to the agency, Brazilian consumers have the right to file an individual or collective lawsuits against suppliers. Imposing contractual limitations in this regard is therefore illegal.
The new contract also states that users cannot join “any other type of representative process”, as well as collective actions. This language, for experts, tries to restrict legal alternatives provided for by law.
Nintendo has not spoken so far
Procon-SP issued the notification on Tuesday, May 13. Since then, the company has not yet publicly commented on the agency's demands or indicated whether it will make changes to the terms.
Nintendo updated the contract in preparation for the launch of Switch 2, scheduled for June 5. The new version of the console is expected to have reinforced protection against piracy, a problem that affected the previous model released in 2017.
The hardening of the rules, however, raises an impasse: the desire to combat illicit practices cannot override the rights guaranteed by law to consumers. According to Procon-SP, any security measures must respect the limits set by the CDC.
Now, it remains to be seen if Nintendo will respond on time and adjust the contract to the Brazilian reality. Otherwise, the agency may apply administrative sanctions and recommend judicial measures.
