Fortnite to pay $520 million as FTC fines Epic Games for exploiting children

Fortnite's developer Epic Games has just been handed a massive fine by the Federal Trade Commission. The popular developer has been ordered to pay $520 million in fines for "exploiting children."

A statement from the FTC said:

"The Federal Trade Commission has secured agreements requiring Epic Games, Inc., creator of the popular video game Fortnite, to pay a total of $520 million in relief over allegations the company violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and deployed design tricks, known as dark patterns, to dupe millions of players into making unintentional purchases."

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Why is the FTC fining Epic Games' Fortnite?

Fortnite is an entirely free-to-play game, but Epic Games makes money on in-game purchases. The currency is used to buy skins and other cosmetics that can be used, but don't provide an advantage.

FTC chair Lina M. Khan noted:

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

She further went on to say:

"Protecting the public, and especially children, from online privacy invasions and dark patterns is a top priority for the Commission, and these enforcement actions make clear to businesses that the FTC is cracking down on these unlawful practices.”

The FTC has accused Epic of being unscruplous and convincing players, many of which are young children, into making purchases they didn't intend to or didn't actually want to.

Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, took it a step further and said:

“Epic put children and teens at risk through its lax privacy practices, and cost consumers millions in illegal charges through its use of dark patterns. 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.”

The amount charged to Epic Games comes in the form of two record-breaking settlements. They will pay $275 million for violating a COPPA rule, which is the largest such penalty handed down in history.

Skins and cosmetics are the subject of the fine (Image via Epic Games)

They are also being forced to refund players for their purchases to the tune of $245 million. The "dark practices" alleged by the FTC have cost Epic quite a lot, more than any other company who has been punished by the commission in history.

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Who is eligible for refunds as per FTC's guidelines?

The FTC has established who will be getting refunded for the purchases that they believe were illegitimate or coerced by Epic’s practices. According to their website, the following set of people will get their money back:

• Any parent whose child made an unauthorized credit card purchase on the Epic Games Store from January 2017 to November 2018.
• Any player who purchased V-Bucks for "unwanted in-game items." This includes cosmetics, Llamas, or Battle Passes. The purchases will be those conducted between January 2017 and September 2022.
• Any player whose account was locked during that same time due to arguing over unauthorized purchases.

This covers a wide range of people. There’s a very real chance that most Fortnite players see some sort of refund when this all comes to a head.

Epic Games has agreed to the stipulations, so it might not take a long time for this to come into effect. As the official refunds begin rolling out, more information will likely become available.