Fortnite Game Creator to Pay $520M for Violating FTC Rules

Fortnite game creator Epic Games will pay $520 million for violating two FTC rules.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said in a Monday (Dec. 19) press release that the video game company will pay a penalty of $275 million for violating children’s privacy law and will refund $245 million to users for tricking them into making unwanted charges.

“As our complaints note, Epic used privacy-invasive default settings and deceptive interfaces that tricked Fortnite users, including teenagers and children,” FTC Chair Lina M. Khan said in the release. “Protecting the public, and especially children, from online privacy invasions and dark patterns is a top priority for the commission, and these enforcement actions make clear to businesses that the FTC is cracking down on these unlawful practices.”

Epic Games violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by collecting personal information from children under 13 who played Fortnite, without notifying their parents or obtaining their parents’ verifiable consent, and required parents who requested that the data be deleted to “jump through unreasonable hoops,” according to the press release.

The firm also enabled text and voice communications for users by default, rather than requiring them to opt in, the release said.

In the complaint about unwanted charges, Epic Games used counterintuitive, inconsistent and confusing button patterns to trick users to make unintended in-game purchases, charged account holders without authorization and blocked access to purchased content by customers who disputed unauthorized charges with their credit card companies, according to the press release.

Epic Games said Monday in a statement posted on its website that the video game industry experiences fast-moving innovation, that player expectations are high and that decades-old statutes don’t specify how today’s gaming ecosystems should operate.

“The laws have not changed, but their application has evolved and long-standing industry practices are no longer enough,” the firm wrote in the statement. “We accepted this agreement because we want Epic to be at the forefront of consumer protection and provide the best experience for our players.”

In related news, the FTC reported Dec. 8 that young people are more likely than older adults to report losing money to fraud.

The commission said that adults between the ages of 18 and 59 were 34% more likely than those 60 and older to report experiencing scams in 2021.