The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) has fined Epic Games for “using unfair commercial practices aimed at children” inside its popular battle royale game Fortnite. The million-dollar fine is the result of an investigation where the ACM concluded that children who played the game “could experience pressure in several ways to make purchases” through ads within the game (with messaging such as ‘Get it now’ or ‘Buy now’), “misleading countdown timers for items on offer,” and “various design choices for its offerings in its Item Shop.” The ACM concluded that by using these and other methods, “Epic exploited the vulnerabilities of children.”
The ACM is an independent regulator that protects the rights of consumers and businesses within the country and is in charge of “competition oversight, sector-specific regulation of several sectors, and enforcement of consumer protection laws.”
The ACM concluded following its investigation that the Fortnite in-game ads were directly exhorting children to make purchases and therefore an “illegal aggressive commercial practice, under all circumstances.” For that violation, Epic was fined €562,500 (roughly $609,458.63 USD). Further, countdown timers that instilled a “fear of missing out,” or FOMO, were deemed exploitive, which earned Epic an additional fine of €562,500 (roughly $609,458.63 USD). In total, the ACM fined Epic €1,125,000 (roughly $1,218,917.25 USD).
In addition to fines, the ACM has given Epic a “binding instruction” that it must end these violations before June 10:
“ACM imposes a binding instruction that must be implemented before June 10, 2024. Epic must end the violation, and it can do so by reducing the uncertainty regarding the availability of its offerings in the Item Shop, and by extending the decision period for children under the age of 18 years regarding purchases in the Item Shop.”
The agency goes on to say that it has been in contact with Epic, who has told it that it “plans to implement several changes to Fortnite’s Item Shop in order to end the violation.” Those changes include the removal of countdown timers from the Item Shop, plans to show the “local time indicating when the Item Shop will be refreshed, and, for each item, it will show the date on which that item will disappear from the Item Shop.” Epic has also decided to “present to players up to the age of 18 years in the Netherlands only items in the Item Shop that will be available for 48 hours or more.”