Case Overview

In December 2022, Epic Games agreed to pay $520 million to settle allegations from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) related to dark patterns and children's privacy violations in its popular game Fortnite.

Dark Patterns Allegations

The FTC alleged that Epic used various dark patterns to trick players into making unwanted purchases:

• Counterintuitive, inconsistent, and confusing button configuration that led players to incur unwanted charges with the press of a single button
• Charging consumers without authorization through design choices that made it easy to make accidental purchases
• Blocking access to purchased content when consumers disputed unauthorized charges
• Deliberately making cancellation and refund features difficult to find

Settlement Details

The settlement included two separate record-breaking amounts:

• $275 million civil penalty for violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) - the largest penalty ever for violating an FTC rule
• $245 million in refunds to consumers affected by the dark patterns and billing practices - the FTC's largest refund amount in a gaming case

Required Changes

As part of the settlement, Epic Games was required to:

• Implement an affirmative consent model for all in-game purchases
• Establish a comprehensive privacy program
• Obtain parental consent before enabling voice and text communications for children
• Delete personal information collected in violation of COPPA
• Establish strong default privacy settings for minors

Significance

This case represents one of the most significant enforcement actions against dark patterns to date. FTC Chair Lina Khan stated: "This proposed order sends a message to all businesses that collecting children's personal data without parental consent will not be tolerated." The case established that dark patterns in gaming interfaces can violate Section 5 of the FTC Act as unfair or deceptive practices.