FTC’s Final Bill For Fortnite Tricking Its Players Into Paying: $ 245 Million

gameranx.com:

The FTC has finalized the penalty Fortnite developer Epic Games will be paying for tricking its own users into paying, to the tune of $ 245 million.

In a press release, the FTC had this to say today:

“In a complaint announced in December as part of a settlement package with Epic, the FTC said that Epic deployed a variety of design tricks known as dark patterns aimed at getting consumers of all ages to make unintended in-game purchases. Fortnite’s counterintuitive, inconsistent, and confusing button configuration led players to incur unwanted charges based on the press of a single button. The company also made it easy for children to make purchases while playing Fortnite without requiring any parental consent. According to the FTC’s complaint, Epic also locked the accounts of customers who disputed unauthorized charges with their credit card companies.

Under the FTC’s order, Epic must pay $245 million, which will be used to provide refunds to consumers. The order also prohibits Epic from charging consumers through the use of dark patterns or from otherwise charging consumers without obtaining their affirmative consent. Additionally, the order bars Epic from blocking consumers from accessing their accounts for disputing unauthorized charges.”

This excerpt of the press release is straightforward, but it doesn’t fully explain what a dark pattern is. It may sound like a simple or negligible thing, but dark patterns are actually a malicious part of the web as we know it today. Its presence in video games, especially mobile games, is why games are often referred to as predatory, and even dangerous.

As defined by user interface designer Harry Brignull, dark patterns are deceptive user interfaces. They trick you into doing