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In December 2022, Epic Games agreed to pay the Federal Trade Commission $500 million to settle allegations claiming they used several tactics to trick players into spending money in Fortnite and for locking accounts of those who disputed the charges with their credit card companies. Now, the FTC plans to use $245 million of that settlement money to refund parents of children and players who believe they were wrongfully charged.

The FTC exists to help protect consumers from dubious business practices that would otherwise harm or take advantage of them. According to the cases filed against the creators of Fortnite, the FTC claims Epic Games both violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule and used dark patterns to trick players into making unwanted purchases in-game. Dark patterns refer to any intentional, deceptive design that is crafted to misguide users into doing things without awareness. As a result, many people are wondering if they are eligible for a part of this settlement.

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The Policies that Fortnite and Epic Games Violated

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The first complaint filed in federal court claimed that Epic violated COPPA by collecting the personal information of minors, particularity those under the age of 13, without the consent of their parents. Additionally, any parents who wish to have their child's information deleted must jump through hoops to do so, and sometimes Epic didn't follow through with such requests. The proposed federal court order would require Epic to delete previously collected information unless parents consent to the retention of their child's personal information.

The FTC also claimed that Fortnite's default voice and text settings are a potential risk to children. Upon creating an account, the standard setting for voice and text is live. Without giving players the option to choose before starting, the FTC claimed children and teens could be exposed to potential harassment including bullying, threats, and exposure to traumatizing issues such as suicide when being paired with strangers in-game. In addition to deleting collected personal data, Fortnite is also required to collect parents' consent before their children could activate live voice and text settings.

In a second administrative complaint, the FTC alleged that Epic used illegal dark patterns to trick players into making unwanted purchases while playing. One such allegation cited Fortnite's sometimes confusing button mapping paired with the ability to make purchases with the single press of a button without prior consent. Additionally, many were locked from their accounts and lost access to their purchases after consumers disputed the charges with their credit card companies. Epic even ignored over one million user complaints and worked intentionally to make refund features harder to find. If users did finally get their account unlocked, they were warned by Epic that they could be banned for life if they disputed future charges.

Qualifications to be Eligible for an FTC Refund

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According to the FTC, there are three qualifiers for consumers who wish to obtain a Fortnite refund. Players or parents must meet at least one qualification to be eligible for refund. The first is to be the parent of a child who made unauthorized credit card purchases in the Epic Games Store between January 2017 and November 2018. Second, Fortnite players who were charged in-game currency, known as V-bucks, for unwanted game items between January 2017 and September 2022 are eligible. This is applicable to items such as cosmetics, llamas, and battle passes. The final qualification is for players who lost access to their accounts between January 2017 and September 2022 after disputing unwanted charges with their credit card companies.

At this time, parents and players who believe they're eligible for refunds don't need to take any action yet. Once the refund program becomes available, the FTC will make further announcements. Those who wish to be notified can sign up for email notifications on the FTC Fortnite landing page.

Fortnite is available now for Mac, Mobile, PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

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