Epic Games, makers of the popular online video game Fortnite, will pay $520 million (£427 million) to settle allegations of illegally collecting personal information from children and defrauding people of their purchases, according to the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC). . ) and the company said.
It will pay a record $275 million fine for violating the Children’s Privacy Act and enforce strict default privacy settings for young adults.
The FTC said the company would also have to pay $245 million in compensation to consumers who were tricked into making purchases they didn’t intend to make.
“Epic used privacy-invading default settings and misleading interfaces that misled Fortnite users, including teens and children,” the FTC said.
The game, which brings together strangers for interactive battles, was aimed at kids and teens, but the developers didn’t respect parental consent rules, the regulator said.
The commission said that Epic used so-called “dark patterns” – misleading online methods used to get users to do something they did not intend to do. It states that “Fortnite’s illogical, inconsistent, and confusing button configuration has resulted in players incurring unwanted costs due to pressing a single button.”
Players were penalized when the game was on a loading screen or pressed a nearby button if they were simply trying to view an item, the report said. This tactic has resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars worth of unauthorized debits from consumers.
Epic staff raised concerns about the company’s default settings for children, saying people should be encouraged to sign up for voice chat. According to the FTC, voice and text chat should be disabled by default.
Epic said in a statement that in 2019 it eliminated the pay-to-win and pay-to-progress mechanics where two players competed against each other, and also eliminated random item loot boxes. He also said that he has an explicit yes/no option for storing billing information.
“No developer makes a game with the intention of being here,” the company said. “We made this agreement because we want Epic to be at the forefront of consumer protection and provide the best experience for our players.”
Fortnite quickly became a global success after its launch in 2017. It is estimated to be played by over 400 million players worldwide. Although Epic is usually free to download, it earns money by purchasing in-game items.
Source: I News

I am Moises Cosgrove and I work for a news website as an author. I specialize in the market section, writing stories about the latest developments in the world of finance and economics. My articles are read by people from all walks of life, from investors to analysts, to everyday citizens looking for insight into how news will affect their finances.