Fortnite: How the game cheated and violated children’s privacy | Finance | Economie

The maker of popular video game Fortnite has agreed to pay $520 million to settle allegations by US authorities that it violated children’s privacy laws and misled users into making purchases.

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) noted that Epic Games used “deceptive interfaces” that could induce purchases during game loading.

He also accused the company of using default settings that “violate privacy”.

Epic Games blamed the game’s “past designs,” which unite strangers from around the world in interactive battles.

“No developer creates a game with the intention of ending up here,” the company said. “We accepted this agreement because we want Epic to be at the forefront of consumer protection and delivering the best experience for our players.”

A battle royale game that became a global sensation upon its launch in 2017, Fortnite has over 400 million players worldwide. It’s usually free to download, and it pays dividends by selling items like costumes and dance moves as you play.

The FTC alleged that while it was aimed at children and teens, its developers failed to comply with rules about parental consent, even after making changes to address both internal and public concerns.

“As our complaints indicate, Epic has used privacy-invasive default settings and interfaces that mislead Fortnite users, including teens and children,” said FTC Chair Lena Khan.

“Protecting the public, especially children, from invasions of privacy and dark patrons online is one of the Commission’s top priorities, and these enforcement actions show businesses that the FTC is taking action.” suppress these illegal practices.

Epic will pay $275 million, a record fine to the Federal Trade Commission, to respond to allegations that it collected data from children and teens without parental consent and subjected them to bullying and harassment by enabling voice and text communications by default.

Epic Games has agreed to change its privacy settings for minors, as well as turn off chat connections by default.

The company will also pay a record $245 million to compensate customers to resolve a separate complaint about deceptive billing practices.

The FTC alerted the “inconsistent, inconsistent, and confusing button configuration” that led to hundreds of millions of dollars in unauthorized purchases.

The example said the company resisted changing its design to add a separate confirmation step, claiming it would add “friction,” leading to “a decent amount of people questioning their purchase,” and reduce the amount of “impulse purchases,” according to the complaint.

Authorities said the company closed the accounts of customers who disputed the charges and “intentionally concealed cancellation and refund features to make them more difficult to find.”

Epic said it has made changes and that the practices detailed in the FTC complaints are inconsistent with the way Fortnite operates.

“The laws have not changed, but their implementation has evolved and traditional industry practices are no longer sufficient,” the company said, adding that it hopes to become a model for the rest of the industry.

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