Any previous user data collected by Epic in violation of COPPA regulations must be deleted, unless parents explicitly express consent otherwise.Īccording to the FTC’s announcement, employees expressed concern internally regarding Epic Games’ lax safeguards for some of its youngest players as far back as 2017. Epic Games adopted strict new default privacy guidelines for children and teens in September 2022, which turned off voice and text communications unless manually changed in Fortnite’s settings. As part of the settlement, Epic agreed to what the FTC calls its largest ever administrative order to change a company’s consumer policy. Fortnite’s previous live-by-default setting for in-game audio and text chatting is said to have also adversely affected teens and children, who could be subject to harassment, bullying, or predatory behavior.Įpic Games will pay a $275 million penalty over accusations of violating COPPA stipulations, the largest ever fine for an FTC rule violation, alongside $245 million in customer refunds over accusations of its dark pattern strategies-itself the largest refund in a gaming case. According to the esports betting platform, Thunderpick, over a quarter of the game’s players are estimated to reside in the US. The FTC alleges that Epic Games relied on a marketing strategy known as “dark patterns,” which The Wall Street Journal described on Monday as “tactics that trap customers into paying for goods and services and create obstacles to canceling.”Īdditionally, the FTC argued that Epic Games routinely collected the personal data of children under 13-years-old without their parents’ consent or knowledge through Fortnite, which counts as many as 400 million users globally. The new Epic Games’ settlement comes without an admission or denial of the FTC’s allegations.Īlthough technically free to play, much of Fortnite’s profits stem from in-game purchases for digital perks like character dance moves, virtual concerts, and costumes. Per the FTC, the makers behind the massively popular video game, Fortnite, were originally accused of not only tricking players into making unintentional in-game payments, but also violating children’s privacy as defined within the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).

Learn more ›Įpic Games has agreed to pay over $520 million as part of a multi-record-breaking settlement with the Federal Trade Commission. Additionally, the order bars Epic from blocking consumers from accessing their accounts for disputing unauthorized charges.Īfter receiving five comments, the Commission voted 4-0 to approve the complaint and order against Epic and the responses to the commenters.Īs part of a separate settlement, also announced in December, Epic agreed to pay a $275 million penalty to settle FTC allegations that the company violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act Rule.Ĭonsumers who believe they may have been injured by Epic’s practices can visit FTC.gov/Fortnite for more information on the refund process.We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. The order also prohibits Epic from charging consumers through the use of dark patterns or from otherwise charging consumers without obtaining their affirmative consent. Under the FTC’s order , Epic must pay $245 million, which will be used to provide refunds to consumers. According to the FTC’s complaint, Epic also locked the accounts of customers who disputed unauthorized charges with their credit card companies. Fortnite’s counterintuitive, inconsistent, and confusing button configuration led players to incur unwanted charges based on the press of a single button. The company also made it easy for children to make purchases while playing Fortnite without requiring any parental consent. In a complaint announced in December as part of a settlement package with Epic, the FTC said that Epic deployed a variety of design tricks known as dark patterns aimed at getting consumers of all ages to make unintended in-game purchases. The Federal Trade Commission has finalized an order requiring Epic Games, the maker of the Fortnite video game, to pay $245 million to consumers to settle charges that the company used dark patterns to trick players into making unwanted purchases and let children rack up unauthorized charges without any parental involvement. Here is the full decision as announced by the FTC Epic Games to pay record $520M to FTC to settle ‘unlawful’ privacy, shopping issuesįTC: $520M settlement with Epic Games is ‘gift of privacy for Fortnite players’

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