United States of America: Finalised settlement in FTC investigation into Epic Games over alleged dark patterns use

On 14 March 2023, the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) finalised its settlement with Epic Games, the developer of the video game Fortnite, to close its investigation concerning dark patterns. The FTC alleged that Epic Games employed dark patterns to increase the number of purchases, allowed children to purchase in-game content without parental authorisation (charging account holders without authorisation) and blocked access to purchased content. Furthermore, the company ignored complaints. Epic Games agreed to pay USD 245 million to compensate consumers for purchases made as a result of dark patterns. Further, Epic Games is prohibited from charging consumers without explicit prior consent. Finally, Epic Games is prohibited from blocking consumers from accessing user accounts and associated content due to them disputing charges.