The FTC said Epic Games duped players with “deceptive interfaces” that could trigger purchases while the game loaded, and accused it of having default settings that breached people’s privacy.
In total, it agreed to a settlement of $520m with Epic Games over the concerns.
This includes a $275m fine relating to how Fortnite collects data on its users, including those aged under 13, without informing parents.
It is the largest fine ever levied by the FTC for breaking a rule.
The rest of the settlement will be paid out as refunds.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Parents in the US whose children purchased items in the popular game Fortnite without their permission will be able to claim a refund from today.
Under the US settlement, refunds will be made for in-game purchases such as outfits and loot boxes, as well as Fortnite’s virtual currency V-Bucks.
But it also specifically includes people who say their child made a purchase using their credit card without their knowledge - though this must have taken place between the more limited period of January 2017 and November 2018.
When the settlement was first announced, Epic Games said it had made several changes to Fornite to tackle the problem of unintended in-game purchases.
The developers have introduced an array of parental controls, a spending limit for players aged under 13, and default high privacy settings for children.
The firm has since clarified that the FTC is handling the distribution of compensation, and concerned players must contact the regulator directly via its website.
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