17-year-old is banned forever from Destiny 2 for cheating and harassment and has to pay a fine of €427,500

The verdict has now been passed against a 17-year-old cheater in Destiny 2. His punishment shows that age doesn’t matter when it comes to cheating. Even a high-profile attorney who aggressively argued Bungie’s lawsuit was “hysterical,” a “kid’s joke,” and “cheating is not illegal,” ultimately couldn’t save him from the hefty fine and harsh conditions.

What lawsuit is it? A year ago, Bungie sought legal action against a teen cheater whose identity remains anonymous because of his age.

  • He played Destiny 2 regularly and cheated several times with cheats.
  • He also threatened and harassed Bungie employees.
  • In the developer’s eyes, these were not only violations of Destiny 2’s Terms of Service, but also unacceptable behavior that violates all ethics in the game and beyond. Something that you are no longer willing to tolerate.

    The teenager tried to defend himself with an experienced top lawyer. Bungie was able to push back on some of the charges in another case for the cheat provider “AimJunkies”. But in the end it didn’t change anything.

    The punishment and other stringent conditions imposed on the teenager were finalized in favor of Bungie at the beginning of this month. MeinMMO tells you how harsh the verdict was.

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    An unprecedented fine of 427,500 euros

    The verdict was this harsh: Bungie’s lawyers declared every single use of a cheat to be a “circumvention act” worth the equivalent of 1,868.49 euros.

    According to available court documents, it was agreed that the defendant committed at least 100 such evasion acts. In addition, Bungie was entitled to statutory damages amounting to the equivalent of around 140,137 euros for each “infringed work”.

    The total amount to be paid is the equivalent of 427,500 euros.

    But this unprecedented fine didn’t stop there, because Bungie also added an injunction that the now convicted cheater must strictly adhere to forever.

  • He is no longer allowed to use cheat software that targets Bungie properties.
  • Bungie is issuing a permanent ban, meaning he will no longer be allowed to use or interact with Bungie game resources. This applies to all Bungie games – ever.
  • Direct or indirect harassment of Bungie, its employees, or anyone playing Bungie games is also prohibited.
  • Additionally, defendant is prohibited from moving within 1,000 feet of Bungie’s offices or knowingly moving within 1,000 feet of a Bungie employee’s home. The only exception is if it is a random trip on public roads.
  • Bungie is making one example after another – cheaters, harassers and haters are no longer safe

    Bungie also requires the deletion of all accounts that were used to distribute or promote the illegal cheat content.

  • The defendant must use all social networking, video sharing or digital messaging accounts controlled by him or her, including but not limited to Facebook, groups or chats on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter as well as Tik Tok, Discord, GBATemp, Reddit, Telegram, Skype, WeChat, Delete WhatsApp, Signal or their equivalents.
  • Of course, this latest conviction does not restrict the defendant’s further use of social media, provided that this does not involve the use and distribution of fraudulent software.

    The ruling is valid worldwide: This case is a reminder that online gaming is not a legal vacuum. Not even for underage players.

    Bungie is more than committed to making it clear that behavior in Destiny 2 can have real consequences, both legal and financial. Cheaters and harassers have been warned and this punishment could be just the beginning – worldwide.

    The judgment stated that…

    …this permanent injunction shall be binding against the defendant worldwide, without regard to the territorial scope of the intellectual property rights asserted in the complaint of the above case, and may be enforced in any court of competent jurisdiction where the defendant or its assets are found.

    Bungie had it recorded in the verdict

    What is your opinion on this drastic punishment? Do you believe such measures are necessary to protect the integrity of the games and the well-being of the community, developers and employees? Or do you think that this won’t change anything anyway? Then please share your opinion with our readers in the comments.

    But Bungie isn’t just cracking down on players. This was recently experienced by a German streamer who was also permanently banned due to persistent violations of the code of conduct:

    Destiny 2: German streamer accuses Bungie of conspiracy and is now permanently banned

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