Netherlands Fines Epic Games Over €1 Million For "Exploiting" Children Through Fortnite's Item Shop, Epic To Appeal
That's a lot of money, but to the company it's a drop in the bucket.
The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) has fined Epic Games 1.125 million euros for unfair commercial practices in Fortnite that targeted children.
An investigation revealed that Epic Games exploited children's vulnerabilities through manipulative design choices in its item shop. Specifically, the use of phrases like "get it now" or "buy now" in advertisements was deemed an aggressive and illegal commercial practice, leading to a €562,500 fine. Also, Epic Games used countdown timers on ads to create a false sense of scarcity for items that remained available after the countdown, resulting in another €562,500 fine.
The ACM criticized Epic Games for not considering the susceptibility of children to these types of commercial strategies, emphasizing that companies must exercise greater care when dealing with children — a standard Epic Games allegedly failed to meet. Epic Games has been given a deadline of June 10 to rectify these issues. In response, the company has already begun implementing changes, such as removing countdown timers globally, adding refresh times for the shop, and indicating item removal dates.
Additionally, starting May 24, items in the store will only be visible to players in the Netherlands under 18 if they are available for 48 hours or more.
"The findings in the ACM's decision contain significant factual errors about how Fortnite and the Item Shop operate,” Epic Games told GamesIndustry.biz. “The ACM is mandating changes that would result in a poor experience for players.” The company added, ”We will appeal this decision.”
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About the Author
Matthew “dinofries” D'Onofrio is a writer, content creator, podcaster and — most importantly — a gamer. With such a strong passion for video games and a severe case of FOMO, it's no surprise he always has his finger on the pulse of the gaming world. On the rare occasion Matt's away from a screen, you'll find him strumming away on his acoustic guitar or taking care of his cat Totoro.
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