Win.gg
Fortnite
Epic Games being sued for failing to protect its users’ privacy Epic Games being sued for failing to protect its users' privacy
Epic Games, the developer behind Fortnite, has had a class action lawsuit filed against it by Franklin D. Azar & Associates in North Carolina.
The reason for the lawsuit is the view that Epic had not done enough to protect its players’ personal data.
A bug that was present in the game until January 19 was exploited by hackers to access debit and credit card details for millions of Fortnite account holders worldwide. With this data, hackers were able to purchase in-game currency or even sell entire accounts. They would then sell game codes for a profit, leaving owners of the hacked accounts to foot the bill.
A
report by the BBC
in December 2018 describes hackers as young as 17 years old making thousands of dollars by exploiting the bug.
The lawsuit is representing over 100 individuals. It is arguing that despite fixing the bug soon after its discovery, Epic did not do enough to inform its player base of the problem.
The lawsuit states:
“Epic Games has not yet directly informed or notified individual Fortnite users that their [personally identifiable information] may be compromised as a result of the breach.”
Epic Games has not commented on the lawsuit as of this writing. Having enjoyed a broadly successful Fortnite World Championship event, Fortnite has become well known around the world, going well beyond the gaming community. The developer will not want this lawsuit to damage Fortnite’s image.
With a predominantly younger player base, some parents may be concerned that their children’s accounts may have been hacked or could potentially be hacked in the future. Epic Games has now added two-factor authentication
options to help better secure accounts. However the lawsuit suggests that may not be enough to deter hackers.
“Fortnite users have no guarantee that the above security measures will in fact adequately protect their personal information,” the lawsuit reads.
Franklin D. Azar & Associates urge anyone who has been affected by the hack to get in touch with the firm.
Nina Forneloza
About Nina Forneloza
Nina Forneloza is a huge fan of gaming, but her favorite genres of games above all other are gacha games, first-person shooting games, and role-playing games. When she isn’t looking for a lucky pull in the latest gacha, you’re likely to find her in a competitive Valorant lobby or playing the latest big single-player RPG. Either way, you can be assured that she’ll be into it and ready to write about the experience.
View full profile
Read Also
Fortnite
Fortnite collaboration in danger after generative AI revelation
Zachary Roberts
Fortnite has crossovers with so many different things. If Epic Games wants something in the game, it usually happens. Whether it's Darth Vader, Spider-Man, Batman, Patrick Mahomes, LeBron James, Sabrina Carpenter, or Khaby Lame, anything the developers want usually ends up in the game. It's rare for a collaboration to end up cancelled, but there's real danger of that happening right now. Vampire Survivors was supposed to have a collaboration ...
Fortnite
How to find TheBurntPeanut in Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 3
Zachary Roberts
Wondering how to find TheBurntPeanut in Fortnite? You're not alone. The streamer is the latest high-profile collaboration in the game, but it's a little different this time. Instead of being a skin or an NPC, the streamer is a Sprite. These are relatively new to the game, so if you're wondering about that or where TheBurntPeanut is, we've got you covered. TheBurntPeanut is one of the most unique crossovers in ...
Fortnite
When does the current Fortnite season end?
Zachary Roberts
When does the current Fortnite season end? This is a question that's always important to know the answer to. For one thing, many elements of the season, such as the items and characters, will go away at that time. That is also when players will no longer be able to earn battle pass rewards. So, when does the current Fortnite season end? Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 3 just began, but ...
Fortnite
Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 3 Battle Pass leaks early, here are the characters
Zachary Roberts
Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 3 is coming in a matter of days, so now is a great time to keep your eyes peeled for leaks. They'll be flowing pretty freely in the lead-up to June 5, which is when the current season ends. Unsurprisingly, the battle pass has and will continue to be a big part of that. While we don't know every item that will be included, we do ...
Fortnite
Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 3 leaks reveal possible name and theme
Zachary Roberts
Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 3 is nearly here. In early June, Season 2, the Showdown season, will come to an end. On June 5, Season 3 drops, which puts it less than two weeks away. Sadly, that means there are only two weeks left to claim current season rewards, but it also means the leaks are going to start flowing in. They always do when a new season nears. Every ...
Fortnite
The rarest Fortnite Skins out there
Zachary Roberts
Wondering about the rarest Fortnite skins that have been part of the game? Plenty of people do. While they're not like Pokémon cards and do not carry real-world for being rare, it is still a little bit of a flex to have some of these uncommon skins. In some instances, extenuating circumstances caused a skin to be unavailable for the rest of time (Travis Scott), while other times, gamers just ...
Twitch
Here’s what we know about Clix’s net worth
Khizar Mundia
Cody “Clix” Conrod is a famous Fortnite streamer who has recently gone on record talking about his yearly income. This has led to fans to speculate as to what Clix's net worth is, given his huge growth in popularity in recent years. American streamer Clix may have started his career by playing Fortnite, but he soon became one of the more popular content creators around regardless of game of choice. ...
