Parents whose kids made purchases on Fortnite without them knowing could soon get refunds.
Millions of people will be contacted by US regulators after a legal settlement with game developer Epic Games Inc. Millions will be offered compensation after the developer agreed to a payout of €230 million ($245 million) after multiple complaints over children’s privacy.
Last year, the Federal Trade Commission ordered Epic Games to pay millions of dollars in penalties and refunds after issues with children’s privacy. Gamers were also tricked into making unintended purchases, something many parents were furious about.
The game itself is free, but players can make in-app purchases, which is something millions of younger players did without asking their parents.
The FTC issued a statement, which read: “The company also made it easy for children to rack up charges without parental consent.
“It locked the accounts of consumers who disputed unauthorized charges with their credit card companies.”
Parents were then left with extremely pricey bills, but thankfully they’ll be compensated for the incidents.
They accused the developers of tricking children into buying ‘skins’ because they weren’t aware they were using real money. ‘Skins’ are items players can use to customise their characters.
Epic Games was also accused of violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. The company then agreed to pay a settlement of €488 million ($520 million).
Fortnite collects user data from players, but parents slammed the developers for gathering data on users under 13 without their parent’s consent.
They also said the game is addictive and damaged their children’s health with many children refusing to sleep, eat, or shower so they could continue playing.
READ MORE
- Santa wishlist: The first ever Bluey video game lands just before Christmas
- The handy ‘overnight’ hack for drying clothes in autumn without using heater or dryer
- Hamley’s reveals it’s top 10 toys for Christmas 2023
