Fort Knight is ordered to pay a fine of about 33 billion yen for the reason that ``I used a dark pattern to make a child purchase an unintended item''

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said that ' Fort Knight ', a popular battle royal game developed by Epic Games, used dark patterns to 'make children purchase unintended in-game items without parental involvement.' was ordered to pay a fine of $ 245 million (about 33 billion yen).

FTC Finalizes Order Requiring Fortnite maker Epic Games to Pay $245 Million for Tricking Users into Making Unwanted Charges | Federal Trade Commission
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2023/03/ftc-finalizes-order-requiring-fortnite-maker-epic-games-pay-245-million-tricking-users- making

Fortnite developer ordered to pay $245 million to players tricked into making 'unwanted' purchases | GamesRadar+
https://www.gamesradar.com/fortnite-developer-ordered-to-pay-dollar245-million-to-players-tricked-into-making-unwanted-purchases/

Epic Games Ordered To Pay $245 Million In Refunds To Fortnite Players Tricked Into 'Unwanted Charges' - Game Informer
https://www.gameinformer.com/2023/03/15/epic-games-ordered-to-pay-245-million-in-refunds-to-fortnite-players-tricked-into

The FTC has filed two lawsuits against Epic Games, which develops and operates Fort Knight. One is about Epic Games collecting personal information of users under the age of 13 without parental consent. Ultimately, the court ordered Epic Games to pay $ 275 million (about 37 billion yen) as this violates the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). The other is that dark patterns were used to trick users into making unnecessary purchases. Epic Games has received an administrative order to pay $ 245 million (about 33 billion yen) for this, and this fine was to be used to refund users. In total, Epic Games will pay a total fine of $ 520 million (about 69 billion yen).

'Fort Knight' developer Epic Games to pay fines of over 70 billion yen - GIGAZINE

On March 14, 2023 local time, the FTC ruled that the FTC fined $245 million for using dark patterns to trick users into making unnecessary purchases. has announced. The FTC said, ``Fortnite's ``counter-intuitive'', ``inconsistent'' and ``confusing button configuration'' were designed so that players could be charged unnecessary fees by pressing a single button.'' ``Epic Games was also designed to allow children to easily purchase in-game items while playing Fortnite without requiring parental consent.'

In addition, due to this administrative order, Epic Games will be prohibited from using dark patterns to lead consumers to billing and to lead consumers to billing without parental consent.

In addition, the FTC claimed that ``Epic Games has frozen the account of a user who has objected to fraudulent charges from a credit card company.'' 'Freezing the account of a user who objects to it' is prohibited.

In addition, Epic Games has agreed to settle with the FTC and agree to pay a $275 million fine for COPPA violations.

Users who are aware of Epic Games' practice of using dark patterns to trick users into making unwanted purchases can visit the URL below to see if they can participate in the refund process. .

Fortnite Refunds | Federal Trade Commission
https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/refunds/fortnite-refunds

Users who fall under the following cases are eligible for refunds.

・Parents whose children made purchases on the Epic Games Store with unauthorized credit cards between January 2017 and November 2018
・Fortnite players charged in-game currency (V-Bucks) for unwanted in-game items (skins, battle passes, etc.) between January 2017 and September 2022
Fortnite players whose accounts were locked after a fraudulent charge dispute with their credit card company between January 2017 and September 2022