The Federal Trade Commission has its sights set on the video game industry.
Less than a month after the FTC sued to stop Microsoft’s blockbuster acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the regulatory agency is back to put the hammer down on Fortnite. Specifically, the game’s developer Epic Games has been ordered to pay a combined $520 million in penalties for violations of data privacy laws and for accidental monetary charges within Fortnite.
It’s the largest penalty the FTC has ever issued.
The fine’s staggering size makes more sense once you realize it comes in two parts. Epic has to pay a $275 million fine for collecting personal data (the FTC’s release didn’t specify what kind of data) from players younger than 13 without parental consent. Not only that, but Epic apparently failed to honor requests from parents to delete younger players’ data. The FTC is also ordering Epic to make voice and text chat features opt-in rather than on by default.
As for the other $245 million, Epic will pay that in the form of a refund for using what the FTC called “dark patterns.” In layman’s terms, those are manipulative user interfaces that make it easy to spend money unintentionally through idle button presses and whatnot. The FTC said Fortnite players have lost money by accidentally being charged during loading screens, while booting the game up, or while trying to preview paid cosmetic items.
What’s worse is that Epic apparently would lock users out of their accounts if they tried to dispute a charge on their card. The FTC’s order prohibits Epic from using these tactics going forward.
To Epic’s credit, the company isn’t fighting any of this. In a press release of its own, Epic owned up to its mistakes, though it laid some of the blame at obsolete laws.
“No developer creates a game with the intention of ending up here. The video game industry is a place of fast-moving innovation, where player expectations are high and new ideas are paramount. Statutes written decades ago don’t specify how gaming ecosystems should operate. The laws have not changed, but their application has evolved and long-standing industry practices are no longer enough. We accepted this agreement because we want Epic to be at the forefront of consumer protection and provide the best experience for our players.”
Considering Fortnite’s massive player base (the FTC said it has 400 million players worldwide) and younger audience, it makes sense for the FTC to step in and levy these fines. The game generates several billion dollars in revenue each year, so Epic won’t be on the verge of bankruptcy or anything because of this. But as someone who really enjoys Fortnite at its best, I can’t say I’ll miss the UI practices the FTC is trying to get rid of.
