United States · Children · 19 Dec 2022

Fortnite maker pays $275m for collecting children's data and unsafe default settings

$275 million COPPA penalty (plus a separate $245 million for consumer refunds)

Company: Epic Games (Fortnite)
Regulator or court: Federal Trade Commission and US Department of Justice
Law: Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and FTC Act
Status: Settlement

What happened

The FTC said Epic collected personal information from children under 13 who played Fortnite without parents' consent, and switched on live voice and text chat by default, exposing children and teens to strangers. Epic agreed to a record $275 million penalty and to turn off voice and text chat by default for young users. In a separate settlement it agreed to pay $245 million in refunds over design tricks that led players into unwanted purchases.

Sources

FTC press release (19 Dec 2022)DOJ press release

Summary in our own words. General information, not legal advice.

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