Epic Games, maker of the “Fortnite” game, has agreed to pay a total of $520 million to settle US government accusations that it misled millions of gamers, including children and teenagers, to make unintentional purchases and that it violated a federal landmark child privacy law.
As part of the settlement, Epic will pay $275 million to the US government to settle allegations that it violates the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by collecting personal information from children under the age of 13 without first receiving verifiable consent from their parents. . It is the largest fine the FTC has ever imposed.
In a second, separate settlement, Epic will pay $245 million in reimbursements to consumers who were allegedly harmed by user interface design choices that the FTC alleged were misleading. This settlement is the largest administrative order in FTC history, the FTC added.
In a blog post addressing the settlements, Epic said the situation reflects an evolution in how US law is applied to the video game industry. ??We accept this agreement because we want Epic to be at the forefront of consumer protection and provide the best experience for our players.”
FTC Chair Lina Khan said the settlement reflects the agency’s heightened focus on privacy and so-called “dark patterns,” a term used to describe design elements intended to lead users to a company’s preferred outcome.
The FTC’s complaint and proposed settlement regarding children’s privacy was filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. In addition to the alleged illegal collection of children’s data, the FTC also alleged that Epic’s default settings for matchmaking and in-game communications exposed children to bullying and harassment.
Allegations of Epic’s misleading design choices were filed as an administrative complaint with the FTC. The complaint claims that Epic made it extremely easy for children to purchase in-game items with a single click or button press without parental approval, resulting in over a million parental complaints to Epic about unwanted charges.
The FTC further alleged that Epic made it difficult to cancel in-game item purchases by hiding the option at the bottom of the screen and requiring consumers to press and hold a button on their controllers to complete the cancellation. These design choices were reportedly implemented after research showed that when the unsubscribe button was most prominently displayed, accidental charges were the “number one reason” users clicked the button, the FTC said.
Epic’s settlement with the FTC, which is not yet the end of the story, prohibits the company from using dark patterns or charging consumers without their consent, and it also prohibits Epic from blocking players from their accounts in response to requests for user chargebacks with credit card companies that dispute charges. The agreement will last for 20 years from the date of its adoption.
The FTC said that, as part of its children’s privacy agreement, Epic can no longer allow text and voice chat by default for teenage Fortnite players or those under 13.
Want to know more about the news? Don’t forget to follow ADNEWS on social networks and stay on top of everything!
The post Epic Games, maker of ‘Fortnite’, will pay $ 520 million in settlement appeared first on ADNEWS.
