Fortnite Maker Epic Games to Pay $520 Million over FTC Allegations of Privacy Violations and Unwanted Charges

[Tsing]

Epic Games must pay a total of $520 million in relief over allegations that the Fortnite maker violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and deployed design tricks, known as dark patterns, to dupe millions of players into making unintentional purchases, according to a press release from the FTC that explains how the action actually involves two separate record-breaking settlements: 1) a $275 million penalty for violating children’s privacy law and changing default privacy settings, and 2) $245 million in refunds for tricking users into making unwanted charges.

See full article...

 

[Tempest]

Wow, $520 million. That's actually real money.

It'd be nice if everyone in the U.S., including adults, were afforded protection by effective privacy laws and regulations. Dark patterns, along with "opt-in by default" and countless other hostile practices, have got to go.

 

[Burticus]

DOH! Maybe Elon will let people search under his couch cushions for loose change