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Fortnite Game Maker to Pay $520 Million for Privacy, Payment Abuses

时间:2022-12-22 06:06:49

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Fortnite Game Maker1 to Pay $520 Million for Privacy, Payment Abuses

The creator of video game Fortnite has agreed to pay a total of $520 million in government fines and repayments2. A government agency that oversees3 trade accused Fortnite of illegally collecting children's private information and carrying out misleading sales methods.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced this week that it had reached an agreement with Epic4 Games to settle two cases against the company. The FTC is a federal agency that seeks to protect the public from deceptive5 business methods and unfair competition.

The settlement requires Epic Games to pay a $275 million fine for collecting personal information on Fortnite players under the age of 13 without getting their permission or informing their parents.

Another part of the agreement seeks $245 million to be paid to Fortnite users who the FTC says were tricked into making unwanted purchases while playing the game.

Epic Games released Fornite in 2017 and it has grown to become one of the most popular online video games. The FTC said in a news release that the game has more than 400 million players worldwide.

Fornite is free to download and play. But players can pay for some additional elements, such as costumes and dance moves.

The FTC accused Epic Games of using so-called "dark pattern" methods "to trick players into making unwanted purchases." Dark patterns are online tricks designed to get users to do something they might not have meant to do.

The FTC said Epic's use of such methods included misleading button designs that led players to unknowingly make purchases.

For example, players could be charged while trying to wake the game from a sleeping state or while the game was still loading. Users could also be charged just by pressing buttons while trying to look at an object they might want to buy.

Such methods led to "hundreds of millions of dollars in unauthorized charges" for users, the FTC said.

The privacy accusations6 involved the collection of personal information from children under age 13 who played Fortnite. The FTC said the data collection violated the agency's Children's Online Privacy Protections Rule, or COPPA. That rule sets requirements on operators of websites or online services directed at children under 13 years of age.

The FTC said its investigation7 found that Epic knew many children were playing Fortnite and that it collected personal information from them without getting parental8 permission. In addition, the agency said Epic required "unreasonable9" methods for parents requesting that their children's personal information be removed.

Epic also violated another FTC rule by turning on real-time voice and text communications for children and teenagers by default, the agency said. This violation10 could result in children and teens being connected online with strangers to play Fortnite together.

This action "harmed" children and teens, the FTC said. In some cases, children and teens were subjected to bullying12 and threatening behavior while playing Fortnite, the agency added.

The FTC said Epic employees had expressed concerns as early as 2017 about Fortnite's default settings.

Epic said in a statement it had agreed to accept the FTC settlement because it wants "to be at the forefront of (user) protection and provide the best experience for our players." The company said, "No developer creates a game with the intention of ending up here."

Epic said it had already taken steps to improve the design of its payment system "to provide the largest amount of clarity" to players making purchase decisions. "Games should go above and beyond to make sure players even more clearly understand when they are making a purchase" with real or digital money to prevent accidental purchases, the company said.

To protect children, Epic said it had increased the number of parental controls in the game. It also said it created a new kind of account for players under 13 that disables some parts of the game, including communications and in-game purchases.

Words in This Story

deceptive – adj. intended to make someone believe something that is not true

costume – n. a set of clothes someone wears to make them look like someone or something else

unauthorized – adj. done without official permission

unreasonable – adj. not fair

by default – n. something that happens if no changes are made

bully11 – n. to intentionally13 frighten or threaten someone who is smaller or weaker than you

be at the forefront – phr. to have an important position in an area of activity

intention –n. something that is planned to be done but has not been done yet; an aim or purpose

disable – v. to stop a system or piece of equipment from working


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 maker DALxN     
n.制造者,制造商
参考例句:
  • He is a trouble maker,You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼,你不要跟他在一起。
  • A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。
2 repayments f8b697bfb3107d78e4b040d051ee8608     
偿还,报答,偿付的钱物( repayment的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The repayments of the loan are spread over 10 years. 贷款可在十年内分期偿还。
  • The repayments of the loan are spread over 25 years. 这笔贷款分摊二十五年偿还。
3 oversees 4607550c43b2b83434e5e72ac137def4     
v.监督,监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网
4 epic ui5zz     
n.史诗,叙事诗;adj.史诗般的,壮丽的
参考例句:
  • I gave up my epic and wrote this little tale instead.我放弃了写叙事诗,而写了这个小故事。
  • They held a banquet of epic proportions.他们举行了盛大的宴会。
5 deceptive CnMzO     
adj.骗人的,造成假象的,靠不住的
参考例句:
  • His appearance was deceptive.他的外表带有欺骗性。
  • The storyline is deceptively simple.故事情节看似简单,其实不然。
6 accusations 3e7158a2ffc2cb3d02e77822c38c959b     
n.指责( accusation的名词复数 );指控;控告;(被告发、控告的)罪名
参考例句:
  • There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
  • He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。
7 investigation MRKzq     
n.调查,调查研究
参考例句:
  • In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
  • He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。
8 parental FL2xv     
adj.父母的;父的;母的
参考例句:
  • He encourages parental involvement in the running of school.他鼓励学生家长参与学校的管理。
  • Children always revolt against parental disciplines.孩子们总是反抗父母的管束。
9 unreasonable tjLwm     
adj.不讲道理的,不合情理的,过度的
参考例句:
  • I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。
  • They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。
10 violation lLBzJ     
n.违反(行为),违背(行为),侵犯
参考例句:
  • He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说,那是违反规则的。
  • He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。
11 bully bully     
n.恃强欺弱者,小流氓;vt.威胁,欺侮
参考例句:
  • A bully is always a coward.暴汉常是懦夫。
  • The boy gave the bully a pelt on the back with a pebble.那男孩用石子掷击小流氓的背脊。
12 bullying f23dd48b95ce083d3774838a76074f5f     
v.恐吓,威逼( bully的现在分词 );豪;跋扈
参考例句:
  • Many cases of bullying go unreported . 很多恐吓案件都没有人告发。
  • All cases of bullying will be severely dealt with. 所有以大欺小的情况都将受到严肃处理。 来自《简明英汉词典》
13 intentionally 7qOzFn     
ad.故意地,有意地
参考例句:
  • I didn't say it intentionally. 我是无心说的。
  • The local authority ruled that he had made himself intentionally homeless and was therefore not entitled to be rehoused. 当地政府裁定他是有意居无定所,因此没有资格再获得提供住房。

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