"Epic used dark patterns to trick players" - Fortnite maker accused of tricking and exploiting children

Fortnite maker Epic Games recently received a huge blow from the United States Federal Trade Commission. The FTC ordered Epic Games to pay over half a billion dollars for using dark patterns to trick players and violating the country's child privacy laws.

The Department of Justice recently filed a court order against the Fortnite maker for paying the largest-ever penalty related to an FTC violation. Epic Games must pay $520 million for violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and for duping millions of players into unintentional purchases.

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Epic Games fined half a billion dollars for exploiting Fortnite players

The large majority of Epic Games' battle royale players include teenagers, many of whom are below the age of 13. These players are often offered several surveys to obtain information on how to improve the game further. Although the move is a positive one, it is going to cost Epic a massive amount of money for improper implementation.

According to the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), obtaining information from children younger than 13 requires permission from their parents or guardians. Epic ignored the regulation, leading to the first violation.

Besides this, the battle royale game also has voice and text communications turned on by default, which is also considered a privacy violation. Additionally, it has also caused several children to be harassed and bullied, according to the FTC.

Epic Games to pay a heavy fine for Fortnite privacy violations (Image via FTC/Twitter)

For all COPPA violations, the FTC has proposed a penalty of $275 million to be paid by the Fortnite publisher. The Department of Justice has cracked down heavily against Epic Games for its lax privacy rules that put young children at risk, stating:

"Under the proposed orders announced today, the company will be required to change its default settings, return millions to consumers, and pay a record-breaking penalty for its privacy abuses."

Besides the fine, the order also proposes that text and voice communications be turned off by default to protect the privacy of children playing the battle royale game.

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Fortnite maker accused of deceiving players into making purchases

Unfortunately, privacy violations only cover half of the penalties imposed on Epic Games by the FTC. The company is also accused of using "dark patterns to trick players, to dupe millions of players." into making unintentional purchases."

Dark patterns are design tricks that trick children into making unwanted transactions without parental confirmation. The FTC claims the design of Epic's in-game shop includes buttons that deceive players into spending money by pressing a single button. Moreover, Epic Games has also been accused of blocking accounts that disputed these unwanted charges.

FTC ordered Epic Games to pay a fine for dark practices (Image via FTC/Twitter)

As a result of these practices, Epic Games has also been ordered to pay $245 million. This amount will be used to refund all the customers who were victims of the accused deception in Fortnite.

Such heavy penalties and rectifying orders should improve the situation and make the battle royale game safer for children under 13 and other players.