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If you are one of the millions of people playing a little game called Fortnite, you can now file to get part of a massive settlement with the Federal Trade Commission.
As reported by WRAL TechWire, parent company Epic Games settled allegations with the FTC back in December. The Cary-based company was accused of using deceptive tactics to drive users (including children and teens) to make unwanted in-game purchases.
Those tactics violate the landmark Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act by gathering personal information of kids under the age of 13 without parental consent.
On Tuesday (Sept. 19), the FTC said that it has opened the claims process for the more than 37 million potentially affected players.
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As part of their settlement, Epic agreed to pay $245 million as refunds to consumers. In addition, they also agreed to pay another $275 million to the US government to resolved claims that it violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.
Those who are eligible to apply include:
- Users charged between Jan. 2017 & Sept. 2022
- Parents whose children made charges between Jan. 2017 & Nov. 2018
- Users whose accounts were locked between Jan. 2017 and Sept. 2022 after reporting wrongful charges to their credit card company.
Over the next month, the FTC will send emails to affected users with a claim number. Users can also visit the settlement site directly and file with their Epic account ID. They have until January 17, 2024 to file.
Play Fortnite? You Can Claim Part of A $245M FTC Settlement! was originally published on hiphopnc.com
