Someone thought of the children, and the dark patterns
The owner of Fortnite is paying the FTC an Epic amount of cash after a pair of unanimous 4-0 decisions found it guilty of violating children’s privacy and tricking customers into making unwanted purchases.
Under the settlements, Epic Games will pay $275 million to the FTC for violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA, and $245 million that will go toward refunding customers fooled by « dark patterns » in the Fortnite app.
According to the FTC, both settlements are record breakers: The COPPA penalty is « the largest penalty ever obtained for violating an FTC rule, » while the dark pattern payout « is the FTC’s largest refund amount in a gaming case, and its largest administrative order in history. »
« As our complaints note, Epic used privacy-invasive default settings and deceptive interfaces that tricked Fortnite users, including teenagers and children … these enforcement actions make clear to businesses that the FTC is cracking down on these unlawful practices, » said FTC Chair Lina Khan.
The FTC alleged that Epic Games violated COPPA by collecting the personal information of gamers under the age of 13 without obtaining their parents’ consent.