The Netherlands Consumer and Markets Authority (ACM) has issued two separate fines totaling $1.2 million to Epic Games after finding that underage players “may feel pressured in several ways when making purchases.”
Epic Games filed an objection to this decision and proposed several changes to the game that ACM said would address their concerns.
“The results… contain material factual errors regarding the operation of Fortnite and the Item Shop,” the company said.
ACM issued its first penalty for in-game phrases such as “Buy Now” or “Buy Now”. Advertisements that directly appeal to children to buy are “an illegal, aggressive commercial practice under any circumstances,” ACM said.
The second fine was for “fraudulent” and “misleading” timers that pressured children to make purchases quickly because they believed the item would disappear when the clock reached zero – which was not always the case.
“Children’s vulnerabilities were exploited and they were forced to make purchases,” said ACM Cateautje board member Hijmans van den Bergh. “With this decision, we are sending a clear message: children must be able to play online games without undue pressure,” she said.
He ordered Epic Games to comply with the order by June 10, 2024.
ACM says the gaming company has already made several changes, including removing timers from the Item Store globally.
For the Netherlands, the company will only offer purchases in the item store that will be available for 48 hours or longer.
“ACM believes that Epic will comply with the applicable instruction if it implements the above changes,” it said in a statement, adding that it would review this after June 10.
However, Epic Games said in a statement that the changes would result in a “bad experience for players.”
