According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the U.S. federal agency for trade, Fortnite developer Epic Games must pay a fine of 259 million euros for allegedly violating children’s privacy with the battle royale shooter. Additionally, Epic Games must pay 232 million euros in refunds to players for the use of “dark patterns.”
What kind of fine is this? Epic Games is facing a record fine of 275 million USD (equivalent to 259 million euros). According to the agency, this is the highest fine ever imposed for violating an FTC rule.
Why does Epic Games have to pay this fine? The FTC has determined that the developer studio violated children’s privacy with the game Fortnite. An official statement reads:
The FTC lawsuit against Epic includes two separate, record-setting settlements. Under a federal court order requested by the Department of Justice on behalf of the FTC, Epic will pay a fine of 275 million USD for violating the COPPA rule – the highest penalty ever imposed for a violation of an FTC rule.
The Federal Trade Commission via ftc.gov
Furthermore, according to the FTC statement, Epic Games is required to implement privacy settings for children and adolescents that ensure voice and text communication is turned off by default.
What rule did Epic Games violate? The FTC’s accusation against Epic Games is a “violation of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule” by failing to notify parents and obtain consent. The FTC states:
The FTC claimed that Epic knew that many children played Fortnite – as surveys of Fortnite users, licensing and marketing of Fortnite toys and merchandise, player support, and other communications from the company showed – and Epic collected personal data from children without obtaining verifiable parental consent first.
The Federal Trade Commission via ftc.gov
Fortnite’s default settings harm children and adolescents
The FTC statement also mentions that Epic imposes unreasonable hurdles on parents requesting the deletion of their children’s personal data.
Another violation of Fortnite regarding children’s privacy according to the FTC is: “The default settings harm children and adolescents:”
According to the FTC, the default setting for text and voice chat in Fortnite harmed children and adolescents as they were matched with strangers to play the battle royale shooter together.
The damage caused to children and adolescents while playing Fortnite is described by the FTC as follows:
Children and adolescents were bullied, threatened, harassed, and exposed to dangerous and psychologically traumatizing topics such as suicide while playing Fortnite.
The Federal Trade Commission via ftc.gov
FTC forces Epic Games to pay $245 million in refunds to players
What kind of refunds are these? In addition to the fine imposed on Epic Games for violating children’s privacy, the FTC report states that Epic Games must pay 245 million dollars (equivalent to 231 million euros) in refunds to players.
The FTC directs Epic Games to compensate consumers for the use of “dark patterns” as well as its billing practices. Here are the three accusations the FTC made against Epic:
- Epic Games used dark patterns to lure users into making purchases
- Epic Games charged account holders unauthorized fees
- Epic Games blocked users from accessing purchased content
With the so-called “dark patterns,” Epic Games allegedly employed design patterns in Fortnite to entice players into unwanted in-game purchases. The “inconsistent and confusing button configuration” reportedly caused players to incur unwanted costs by pressing a single button.
Moreover, account holders are said to have been charged unauthorized fees, as until 2018 children and other users could purchase cosmetic content and battle passes simply by pressing buttons, without requiring verification from the account holder or parents.
Additionally, Epic Games is alleged to have blocked the accounts of players who disputed unauthorized charges with their credit card companies. As a result, those affected lost access to their purchased content.
