Epic Games faces $1.2 million fine for ‘unfair practices’, plans to fight back

Fortnite’s parent company is in a sticky situation overseas after the Dutch Consumer and Markets Authority (ACM) fined Epic Games €1.125 million for what it considers to be ” unfair commercial practices targeting children. The fine, made up of two separate counts, claims that children’s vulnerabilities were exploited through language used in Fortnite’s item shop.

The case, which is publicly available on ACM’s website, claims that an investigation into Fortnite revealed aggressive language that ACM said urged children to make purchases. This language included phrases such as “Get it now” and “Buy now”, which are apparently pushy enough to result in a €562,500 fine.

The second fine, which also amounts to 562,500 euros, was imposed for alleged “fake” timekeepers in the item store. According to ACM, these timers created a sense of urgency by counting down next to certain items in the store, even though they noticed that several items were still available after their timers reached zero.

Both of these practices contribute to what the ACM calls violations of the “requirements of professional care.” Essentially, they believe that Epic stores’ practices are predatory and do not exercise caution in advertising to children. Although Epic has promised to make several changes to comply with the ACM guidelines, they still intend to charge them more than $1.2 million.

Epic responded to the claims in a statement to GamesIndustry.biz:

“The findings of the ACM decision contain material factual errors about the operation of Fortnite and the Item Shop. The ACM is forcing changes that would result in a poor player experience. We will appeal this decision.

While our appeal is ongoing, Dutch players under the age of 18 will not be able to view or purchase items in the store for less than 48 hours, starting May 24, 2024.”

As usual, Epic seeks to push the law to the extreme and push back against claims made against it. Epic has a long and storied history when it comes to legal battles and it’s possible this adds another chapter to this book. They definitely have the money after Disney’s recent $1.5 billion investment, so the ball now appears to be in ACM’s court.

We will be sure to update readers as the situation evolves.

(Source: Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets)