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 something you did not intend to do, by use of misleading or confusing user interfaces.
On the open web, some of you may have experienced classic dark patterns before. You click a link promising a free iPad, and without knowing it gave away your credit card information.
As explained by Marketwatch, Fortnite’s dark patterns tricked children into pressing ‘buttons’ to buy items and clothes, without knowing that their parents would be charged for those items later. They also made interfaces to allow you to cancel transactions and request refunds harder to find.
This follows an earlier fine levied by the FTC against Fortnite for breaking child protection laws, to the tune of $ 275 million. However, if we were to be honest, the combined $ 520 million that Epic Games will pay for these violations is small change compared to the money they already made thanks to these practices.
This suggests that these penalties may not be sufficient deterrent for Epic to stop from doing these in the future. Facebook has received millions in fines for violations of privacy laws worldwide, but they continue to engage in these same practices, as they have been caught doing so again and again.
That would be a big hypothetical at the very least. Unlike Facebook, Epic does not make so much money hand over fist and have so much power that they are effectively unaccountable. In fact, they remain a distant second to Valve in the PC marketplace, and still can’t get Fortnite onto Apple’s platforms under their preferred terms. Hopefully these consequences do have their desired effect in making this company behave.
