*Fortnite maker to pay $520M for privacy, e-commerce...

[DGUtley]

Fortnite maker to pay $520M for privacy, e-commerce...

Full disclosure: I do not know what Fortnite is.



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The maker of the popular Fortnite video game will pay $520 million in penalties and refunds to settle complaints revolving around children's privacy and its payment methods that tricked players into making unintended purchases, U.S. federal regulators said Monday, Dec. 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)




The maker of the popular Fortnite video game will pay $520 million in penalties and refunds to settle complaints revolving around children’s privacy and its payment methods that tricked players into making unintended purchases, U.S. federal regulators said Monday. The
Federal Trade Commission reached the settlements to resolve two cases against Epic Games Inc., which has parlayed Fortnite’s success in the past five years to become a video game powerhouse.

The $520 million covered in the settlement consists of $245 million in customer refunds and a $275 million fine for collecting personal information on Fortnite players under the age of 13 without informing their parents or getting their consent. It’s the biggest penalty ever imposed for breaking an FTC rule. “Epic
used privacy-invasive default settings and deceptive interfaces that tricked Fortnite users, including teenagers and children,” FTC Chair Lina Khan said in a statement.

Even before the settlement was announced, Epic said in a statement it had already rolled out a series of changes “to ensure our ecosystem meets the expectations of our players and regulators, which we hope will be a helpful guide for others in our industry.” The Cary, North Carolina, company also asserted that it no longer engages in the practices flagged by the FTC.


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[carolina73]

Fortnite made 5.8 Billion in 2021, so this hurt but that probably made more by tricking kids into spending than they lost in fines.

Fortnite does not disclose how many under 18 users their are, so apparently they track age by the credit cards, so it would show age of the parents that pay.

[RMNIXON]

Fortnite maker to pay $520M for privacy, e-commerce...

Full disclosure: I do not know what Fortnite is.

It's an addictive online video game and looks like they have lured children into spending a lot of money.


BTW when I first heard of it I thought it was the British term "Fortnight" meaning two weeks.