“Fortnite” maker Epic Games to settle alleged privacy violation for $520 million By Reuters

(Reuters) -“Fortnite” creator Epic Games will pay $520 million to settle allegations that it violated a children’s privacy law and tricked people into making purchases, the Federal Trade Commission and the company said on Monday.

It will pay $275 million for violating the privacy law and has agreed to adopt strong default privacy settings for young people.

It will also pay $245 million to refund consumers duped by so-called “dark patterns” into making purchased they did not intend to make, the FTC said.

“Epic used privacy-invasive default settings and deceptive interfaces that tricked Fortnite users, including teenagers and children,” said FTC Chair Lina Khan in a statement.

“Protecting the public, and especially children, from online privacy invasions and dark patterns is a top priority for the Commission.”