Epic Games Fined USD $520 Million for Matters Relating to Children
Epic Games is currently facing a fine that would shake the gaming industry, at USD $520 million, for Fortnite and matters relating to children.
Epic Games Facing A Monstrous Fine
Epic Games creator of the video game Fortnite, to pay a total of $520 million over FTC allegations Epic violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act and deployed dark patterns to dupe millions of players into making unintentional purchases: https://t.co/yHaQx8VXlu
— FTC (@FTC) December 19, 2022
Epic Games, the developer and publisher of the video game Fortnite, has agreed to pay USD $520 million in fines to settle with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over allegations that it violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
The FTC had claimed that Epic allowed children and teenagers to be paired with strangers in the game, exposed them to potentially harmful and traumatizing content, and did not implement sufficient parental controls.
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.
FTC chair Lina Khan
Epic Games, the developer and publisher of Fortnite, has agreed to pay two fines totaling USD $520 million to settle with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over allegations of violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). The first fine, for USD $245 million, is related to Fortnite’s in-game store and refund systems, while the second fine, for USD $275 million, addresses child privacy concerns.
The settlement centers around the FTC’s claim that Epic deliberately targeted children with marketing strategies such as music, celebrity, and brand partnerships, and merchandise, but failed to address COPPA violations or implement adequate safeguards for children.
The FTC also criticized Epic for its slow introduction of parental controls, calling its efforts to address on-platform harassment “weak-willed.” Epic allegedly had research indicating that certain features, such as voice chat, carried “a risk in terms of negative social behavior,” according to internal reports cited by the FTC.
All the while, kids have been bullied, threatened, and harassed, including sexually, through Fortnite.
FTC
The USD $520 million settlement agreed upon by Epic Games and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is a significant penalty, even by the FTC’s standards, although it is far lower than the USD $5 billion fine that Meta, formerly known as Facebook, was ordered to pay in 2019.
Epic, which made a profit of USD $5.5 billion between 2018 and 2019, according to court documents reviewed by The Verge, will pay two fines as part of the settlement: one for $245 million related to Fortnite’s in-game store and refund systems, and another for USD $275 million addressing child privacy concerns.
The settlement stems from allegations that Epic violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by deliberately targeting children with marketing efforts and failing to implement adequate safeguards for children.
The FTC complaint also noted that in order to enable parental controls, there is a need for parents to be aware of its existence first. They found that in 2019 after Epic Games obtained “empirical evidence pointing to large number of Fortnite players” who are under the age of 13, they finally implemented an age verification system.
The laws have not changed, but their application has evolved and long-standing industry practices are no longer enough. We accepted this agreement because we want Epic to be at the forefront of consumer protection and provide the best experience for our players.
Epic Games
Pokdepinion: As high as that fine sounds, it also sounds like money they could easily afford as is, and money they can easily make in a matter of weeks, if not days.
Leave a Response