72 million dollars in compensation: FTC pays Fortnite players money for deception by Epic Games
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will soon pay more than $72 million to players who have been "deceived" by Fortnite developer Epic Games.
Here's What We Know
The FTC has announced plans to return funds to players affected by unfair microtransaction practices. These payments are part of the agreement announced at the end of 2022. At that time, Epic pledged to pay $245 million to settle claims that it used "dark patterns" to deceive players by allowing children to accumulate unauthorised spending without parental involvement and blocking access to content for those who challenged unauthorised spending.
The FTC said that 629,344 payments will be distributed first, with additional payments coming "at a later date". The average payout amount is $114, and funds are sent via PayPal and cash cheques. Players participating in the payout chose the method of receiving funds when submitting their claim and have 30 days to receive payments via PayPal and 60 days to exchange cheques.
You can fill out the form here.
As a reminder, Epic was also fined $275 million for violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), bringing the total to more than $520 million.
FTC Chairman Lina Khan noted that protecting the public, especially children, from online privacy invasions is a priority for the commission. She stressed that these actions demonstrate the FTC's serious approach to illegal practices.
In response to the FTC's decision, Epic issued a statement promising to change its "long-standing industry practices". The company assured that it is committed to fairness and transparency.
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Source: ign