The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it would be fining Epic Games — the maker of Fortnite — more than half a billion dollars for violating children’s privacy laws and for including default settings that made it easy to mistakenly purchase items. These in-game purchases are a major revenue source for Epic Games, which has now embarked on efforts to challenge payment agreements built into the use of Apple’s software. As companies jump on the movement to analyze online payment systems, lawmakers should remember that these efforts are more about private financial incentives than protecting the competitive process.
Published in its entirety in Medium.