Fans bash FTC as Fortnite fined half a billion dollars for child exploitation via Item Shop

Popular battle royale title Fortnite's developer Epic Games will have to pay $520 million for privacy violations and unwanted charges conducted in the video game. After a thorough investigation, the Federal Trade Commission came to the conclusion that Epic violated several acts.

Not only does the fine of over half a billion dollars sound insanely high, it's also the largest penalty ever for violating an FTC rule. Considering that the video game has a lot of young players, it seems the guidelines at Epic should have been tighter.

This article will explain everything you need to know about the latest case against Epic Games. We will also take a look at some reactions from gamers and fans as well.

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Epic Games fined more than half a billion dollars for violating acts with Fortnite

Epic Games will have to pay a massive fine (Image via Epic Games)

The Federal Trade Commission dealt with two separate lawsuits against Epic Games. As a result, the video game publisher will have to pay more than half a billion dollars in penalties.

The commission found that Epic violated the the COPPA act, which affects products and services that are used by children who are 13 years of age or younger. Considering that a lot of young children play the video game, violations amount to a serious offence.

Due to this, the Fortnite Battle Royale developer will have to pay $275 million. In addition, they will have to improve the default privacy settings in the game, including turning off text and voice communication by default.

Epic Games will have to improve privacy (Image via Epic Games)

"As our complaints note, Epic used privacy-invasive default settings and deceptive interfaces that tricked Fortnite users, including teenagers and children," Lina M. Khan, FTC chairwoman said.

Besides the $275 million fine and the default settings, Epic Games will also have to pay $245 million to refund customers who were tricked.

This fine is the largest FTC fine to date and also the largest administrative order in the history of the commission.

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Fans side with FTC, attack Epic Games

Epic Games is one of the most popular and profitable companies in the world. Thanks to Fortnite Battle Royale, the developer's value has drastically increased over the last five years, allowing the launch of the Epic Games Store.

As of 2022, Epic Games is valued at $32 billion, so paying half a billion-dollar fine is not a big deal. However, it will certainly affect the way Epic handles future updates.

Some Fortnite players defended Epic Games and their practices, praising the addition of the "Cancel Purchase" feature. However, others pointed out how it's pointless to defend large corporations and that everyone should be fighting for consumer rights.

Another Twitter user believes that the fine isn't that big and that Epic Games can afford to pay it. Others said that the penalty should have been much bigger.

Several users even asked for the popular video game to be banned instead of fined.

Naturally, like every other Fortnite post, the FTC case had some saying that the video game was dead.

It will be interesting to see how Epic Games will proceed with this. However, there is no doubt that Fortnite will receive an update that will change the default privacy settings soon.