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FTC fines Fortnite, Epic Games for privacy and accidental purchases

A $520 million fine has been sent Epic's way.

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has fined Fortnite maker Epic Games $520 million USD over child privacy concerns and accidental purchases.

As part of the fines, the FTC said Fortnite employs “illegal dark patterns” in order to “trick players into making unwanted purchases and let children rack up unauthorised charges without any parental involvement”.

Pre-2018, the FTC said Fortnite made it too easy for children to purchase in-game currency without consent, and that the title employed “counterintuitive, inconsistent and confusing button configuration” design which lead to further accidental purchases. Moreover, the FTC pointed to instances where Epic Games locked accounts after the customers tried to employ charge back purchases on their credit cards.

Epic Games has responded to the FTC’s judgement, saying it has come a long way since 2018.

“We accepted this agreement because we want Epic to be at the forefront of consumer protection and provide the best experience for our players,” the publisher wrote. “Over the past few years, we’ve been making changes to ensure our ecosystem meets the expectations of our players and regulators, which we hope will be a helpful guide for others in our industry.”

Epic pointed to new Cabined Accounts for children under 13, which lock out access to chat and purchasing functions.l It also pointed to a refund token system and the ability to undo recent purchases.

“No developer creates a game with the intention of ending up here,” Epic continued. “The video game industry is a place of fast-moving innovation, where player expectations are high and new ideas are paramount. Statutes written decades ago don’t specify how gaming ecosystems should operate. The laws have not changed, but their application has evolved and long-standing industry practices are no longer enough.”

Epic continued to say that it shared “the underlying principles of fairness, transparency and privacy that the FTC enforces, and the practices referenced in the FTC’s complaints are not how Fortnite operates” and that it “will continue to be upfront about what players can expect when making purchases, ensure cancellations and refunds are simple, and build safeguards that help keep our ecosystem safe and fun for audiences of all ages.”

Fortnite is currently available on Windows PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, PS4, PS5 and Switch. It’s also available on iOS, Android and PC via cloud-based streaming.


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Steve Wright

Steve's the owner of this very site and an active games journalist nearing twenty (TWENTY!?!) years. He's a Canadian-Australian gay gaming geek, ice hockey player and fan. Husband to Matt and cat dad to Wally and Quinn.