Epic Games, the developer and publisher of the video game Fornite, will pay $520 million in fines to settle with the FTC over violations of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
Epic will pay two fines, including a $245 million fine against Fortnite's in-game store and refund systems, and another $275 million fine to address child privacy concerns.
Despite the deliberate decision to market to children, the FTC said Epic failed to "cure," or address, COPPA violations.
"All the while, kids have been bullied, threatened, and harassed, including sexually, through Fortnite," the FTC complaint read.
Only in 2019, "long after Epic obtained empirical evidence pointing to large numbers of Fortnite players" under the age of 13, did Epic introduce an age verification system.