The Children’s Privacy Settlement: The FTC Will Not Expend Money Back to Fortnite Consumers who Were Charged for Something Unnecessary
Of the $520 million settlement from Epic Games, $245 million will go towards refunding Fortnite consumers who the FTC says were tricked into making unwanted charges.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, it secured the largest settlements in history for two cases from a game company.
Under the FTC’s children’s privacy settlement with Epic, text and voice chat may no longer be enabled by default for players who are younger than 13 years of age. The company is required to establish a comprehensive privacy program and deleted any data that was gathered in violation of COPPA.
Ever accidentally swipe or press lightly on a button and end up charged for something you didn’t want? James Doty is a attorney with the Federal Trade Commission.
Players could, for example, be charged while trying to wake the game from sleep mode, while the game was in a loading screen, or by pressing a nearby button when simply trying to preview an item, it said.
The FTC has a goal of giving money back to injured consumers. It set up a website where people can find more information and sign up for email updates.
The First Time the FTC Charged Epic for a Game That Enforces Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act: An FTC Statement
“Statutes written decades ago don’t specify how gaming ecosystems should operate,” the company said. Long-standing industry practices are not enough for applications of the laws, since they have not changed.
The US government is going to get a huge amount of money from the company after they claimed that they violated the Childrens Online Privacy Protection Act by gathering the personal information of kids under the age of 13 without receiving their parents’ consent. The FTC said the fine was the largest they have ever imposed for something it enforces.
In its public statement, the company writes that it accepted the agreement because they want to give the best experience for their players.
FTC Chair Lina Khan said the settlement reflects the agency’s heightened focus on privacy and so-called “dark patterns,” a term used to describe design elements intended to nudge users toward a company’s preferred result.
The FTC is cracking down on online privacy invasions and dark patterns and these actions make it clear to businesses that the FTC is after these practices.
The FTC further alleged that Epic made it more difficult to cancel purchases of in-game items by burying the option at the bottom of the screen and by requiring consumers to push and hold a button on their controllers to complete the cancellation. The FTC said that they implemented design choices after surveys showed users were the most likely to click on the cancel button.
According to the post, Epic said it had an agreement with the FTC to implement a feature that would directly ask users of the game if they wanted to save their payment information. The feature is live now, it said. A limited version ofFortnite has been rolled out for younger players who can access some features but only if they have parental consent, which restricts chat and purchases.
Fortnite players were charged in game currency for items that were unwanted in the game during the first half of the year.
-Fortnite players whose accounts were locked between January 2017 and September 2022 after disputing unauthorized charges with their credit card companies.
Consumers are still figuring out how to prove they’ve been ripped off. Doty says that the process is complicated because of the number of players.
The founder and CEO of the Family Online Safety Institute says that the settlement will cause ripples in the gaming industry. He thinks the FTC’s action signals a new wave of recognition that this area needs to be controlled. At the same time, Balkam says, “Epic Games and most of the other gaming companies have already updated their practices. But it’s a very strong indication that the FTC is going to keep a close eye on how they develop their games.”