Fortnite maker Epic Games fined $520M after accusations it exposed young players to potential harm

The maker of popular video game Fortnite agreed to settlement resolving charges it violated user privacy and exposed children to potential harassment.

The maker of the popular online video game Fortnite has agreed to pay a record settlement to resolve charges it violated children's privacy, exposed children and teenagers to potential harassment, and duped players of all ages into making unwanted in-game purchases.

The Federal Trade Commission announced Monday that North Carolina-based Epic Games will pay a total of $520 million to settle allegations that it collected personal data from children without first obtaining the consent of their parent or guardian.

Epic is also accused of exposing children and teenagers to bullying, threats, harassment and dangerous and psychologically traumatizing issues such as suicide while using Fortnite through the game's default live voice and text function.

Fortnite on a smartphone. Metin Aktas / Getty ImagesAnd players of all ages were tricked into buying online credits via what the FTC called "counterintuitive, inconsistent, and confusing" button configuration, a phenomenon known as "dark patterns" that allegedly earned Epic hundreds of millions of dollars in unauthorized charges to consumers.

As part of the settlement, Epic neither confirmed nor denied the allegations, though it has agreed to overhaul its privacy policies and chat and text functions, as well as reconfigure how it charges game users.

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/fortnite-maker-epic-games-fined-520-million-accusations-exposed-child-rcna62369


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