Epic Games Sorts Out $520M Settlement with FTC

The maker of “Fortnite” has resolved legal disputes with a government agency over child privacy laws. 

Epic Games has agreed to a $520 million settlement with the Federal Trade Commission following allegations that it violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. 

• The FTC alleged that Epic collected personal information from “Fortnite” players under the age of 13 without parental consent.
• It alleged that Epic illegally enabled voice and text chat communication for children and teens, exposing them to “dangerous and psychologically traumatizing issues.”
• The regulator also alleged that the North Carolina-based company coerced millions of players into making unintended in-game purchases.
• Epic will pay $275 million for violating the COPPA and pay $245 million for the inadvertent purchases. 

Epic reported $5.5 billion in profit from “Fortnite between 2018 and 2019” — its first full year on the market. Available on multiple platforms, the title has more than 400 million players. 

In April, Epic raised $2 billion in funding from Sony and Kirkbi, owner of The Lego Group, to build its metaverse offerings and expand. The funding gave Epic a $31.5 billion valuation. 

Staying Busy 

Earlier this month, the FTC sued to block Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of “Call of Duty” owner Activision Blizzard.

Law

| by Owen Poindexter

FTC Says Microsoft’s $69B Activision Blizzard Deal Would ‘Harm Competition’

The biggest gaming deal in history is on thin ice.

December 8, 2022

The agency believes the sale would give Microsoft “both the means and motive to harm competition” amid concerns of price increases and command over the cloud gaming sector.

The pending deal is also under regulatory scrutiny in the U.K., European Union, and Australia.