According to the US Federal Trade Commission, Epic Games agreed to pay $ 520 million to the settlement of two claims:
According to the first claim, the company violated the law on protecting the confidentiality of children on the Internet, collecting personal information of Fortnite players under 12 years of age without the permission of their parents. In the hands of Epic Games were the names of young gamers, their email addresses and ID accounts. In addition, children often saw inappropriate messages in the game chat and became victims of ridicule and persecution from the side of more adult players in the voice chat. For all this, the company will have to pay a fine of $ 275 million;
In the second claim, the company will pay $ 245 million for the use of dark schemes and various tricks in design – confusing and intuitive management elements, which is why many users made random purchases. In addition, it was extremely difficult for users to get a return through the Epic Games store. And those who made a return through the bank simply blocked the account.
In addition to fines, Epic Games should limit the voice and text chat for children if the parents did not give their consent. In addition, the company must delete all the data that violate the law on protecting the confidentiality of children on the Internet.