EPA
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The company Epic Games, the creator of the popular computer game Fortnite, settled more than half a billion dollars in two cases brought by the US regulator FTC. According to the regulator, Epic has, among other things, violated the privacy rules for children. The company does not admit the allegations, but neither does it deny them.
The company allegedly collected information from children under the age of 13 without parental consent. In this case, the game developer pays a $275 million fine.
A second allegation is that Epic Games tricked game users into paying for additional features in the game. According to the regulator, canceling a purchase was complicated. This would have led to hundreds of millions of dollars in incidental purchases. Epic Games will pay $245 million in compensation to affected customers.
It was announced earlier this month that a number of Canadian parents are taking Epic Games to court. Parents say so Fortnite drug addicts their own children. They would skip meals and sleep because they wanted to play. The children also reportedly developed behavioral problems.
