Fortnite Maker to Pay $520 Million in FTC Probe
Epic Games, developer of the popular online game Fortnite, has agreed to pay $520 million in penalties and consumer refunds to settle allegations by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that the game violated children's privacy protections and duped players into making unintended in-game purchases.
Epic will pay a record $275 million penalty for alleged violations of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) under the settlement. The company also agreed to refund $245 million to consumers allegedly tricked into making unintended purchases while playing Fortnite.
According to the FTC, Epic executives knew within months of Fortnite's 2017 launch that the game's default voice and privacy settings risked enabling harassment and exploitation of children by adults, yet refused to modify them, leading to numerous «reports of predators blackmailing, extorting, or coercing children and teens they met through Fortnite into sharing explicit images or meeting offline for sexual activity.» The game also exposed children to «dangerous and psychologically traumatizing issues, such as suicide and self-harm,» the FTC said.
The agency also alleged Fortnite illegally collected personal data on children under the age of 13 without the permission of their parents. As part of a settlement, Epic agreed to adopt new privacy protections for children and teens playing Fortnite, including turning off their voice and text communications by default, according to the FTC.
Fortnite is among the most popular online multiplayer games, with more than 350 million registered users and 80 million monthly active users as of 2020, and millions playing the game online simultaneously.Epic was valued at $31.5 billion in its last funding round in
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