FTC fines Epic Games for COPPA violations

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has fined Epic Games, the video game company behind Fortnite, $520 million for non-compliance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).

Specifically, Epic Games must pay $275 million for violating COPPA, another $245 million in refunds for tricking users into making unwanted charges and, in addition, changing the default privacy settings.

According to the lawsuit, the company intentionally stored personal information, such as names and emails, of its Fortnite subscribers, including minors. With this data, the firm had identified them in order to monitor their activity within the game, from their purchases to their lists of friends. In the case of minors, Epic Games did not have parental consent.