Epic Games to pay $520m to settle FTC allegations

The US Federal Trade Commission said on Monday that Epic Games - the maker of video game Fortnite - has agreed to pay $520m in settlements for violating children’s privacy law.

The FTC said Epic had deployed design tricks, known as dark patterns, to dupe millions of players into making unintentional purchases.

Epic will pay a $275 fine for violating the COPPA (Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act) rule - the largest penalty ever obtained for violating an FTC rule - and $245m to refund consumers for its dark patterns and billing practices. This is the FTC’s largest refund amount in a gaming case, and its largest administrative order in history.

FTC chair Lina M. Khan said: "As our complaints note, Epic used privacy-invasive default settings and deceptive interfaces that tricked Fortnite users, including teenagers and children.

"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 Fortnite game is generally free to download and play but charges users for in-game items such as costumes and dance moves. The game has more than 400m users worldwide.