![]() The laws have not changed, but their application has evolved and long-standing industry practices are no longer enough. Statutes written decades ago don’t specify how gaming ecosystems should operate. The video game industry is a place of fast-moving innovation, where player expectations are high and new ideas are paramount. “Protecting the public, and especially children, from online privacy invasions and dark patterns is a top priority for the commission, and these enforcement actions make clear to businesses that the FTC is cracking down on these unlawful practices.”Įpic, in a statement about the settlement (at this link), said in part, “No developer creates a game with the intention of ending up here. “Epic used privacy-invasive default settings and deceptive interfaces that tricked ‘Fortnite’ users, including teenagers and children,” FTC Chair Lina M. (Epic said that in September 2022, it implemented “high privacy default settings” for “Fortnite” players under 18, under which chat defaults to “nobody” profile details default to hidden parties default to “invite only” and personalized recommendations are turned off by default.) (To read the company’s full statement, click here.)įederal regulators stress that the FTC will never ask consumers to pay to file a refund claim, and if anyone promises a refund in exchange for a fee, it’s likely fraudulent.As part of the agreement, in what the FTC said was a first-of-its-kind provision, Epic is required to adopt “strong privacy default settings for children and teens” and ensure that voice and text communications are turned off by default. In response to the settlement reached, Epic Games said it updated its refund policies and procedures back in September 2022. Parents are encouraged to sign up for FTC email updates on the program by clicking here, or check the FTC’s website here for updates periodically. If a user or parent feels they are eligible for a refund, the FTC said there’s nothing to do at the moment. Fortnite players whose accounts were locked between January 2017 and September 2022 after disputing unauthorized charges with their credit card companies.Fortnite players who were charged in-game currency (V-Bucks) for unwanted in-game items (such as cosmetics, llamas, or battle passes) between January 2017 and September 2022. ![]() Parents whose children made an unauthorized credit card purchase in the Epic Games Store between January 2017 and November 2018.The FTC announced Monday that refunds will be available to ‘Fortnite’ players and, if applicable, their parents, under the following conditions: Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter here. Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know.
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