Epic Games to Pay $520M in FTC Settlements Over Deceptive Fortnite Purchases and Children's Privacy Violations

Epic Games settled with the FTC for $245 million over allegations it used deceptive tactics leading to unwanted purchases in Fortnite.
The FTC has now opened the claims process for the over 37 million affected users to get compensation from the settlement fund.
Epic gathered personal info from kids under 13 without parental consent, violating privacy laws, resulting in a separate $275M settlement.
Affected users have until January 2024 to file a claim for a portion of the $245M settlement fund.
As part of the FTC agreement, Epic cannot use dark patterns or charge users without consent, or lock accounts over chargeback disputes.

cnn.com

Relevant topic timeline:

9/20/2023

Epic Games to Pay $245 Million in FTC Settlement Over Alleged Privacy Violations in Fortnite

Fortnite players who were charged for unwanted in-game purchases, had unauthorized charges made by their children, or had their accounts locked can now file claims to receive a refund as part of Epic Games' settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for $245 million.

9/28/2023

Epic Games Lays Off 830 Employees Amid Company Restructuring Despite Fortnite's Success

Epic Games, the creator of Fortnite, is laying off approximately 16% of its staff due to financial difficulties caused by overspending and a decrease in income from its creator content revenue-sharing model.

9/29/2023

Fortnite Emote Mocks Layoffs Same Day Epic Announces 900 Employees Let Go

Epic Games faced backlash after laying off 900 employees and then re-releasing a microtransaction in Fortnite, causing criticism and anger among players and former employees.

10/6/2023

Epic Games Lays Off 830 Employees, Closes Bellevue Studio Amid Fortnite Revenue Changes

Epic Games, the game studio behind Fortnite, will be laying off around 16% of its workforce, which amounts to approximately 830 employees, due to financial challenges caused by changes in revenue sources.

10/16/2023

Epic launches Now On Epic program to bring older games to its store with favorable revenue split

Epic Games has introduced the "Now On Epic" program, offering developers 100 percent of net revenue for six months to encourage them to bring their older games to the Epic Games Store and compete with Steam.

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Posted 9/19/2023, 7:15:00 PM