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Fortnite Maker Epic Games Will Pay Over $500 Million for FTC Complaints

The video game maker agreed to pay over allegations it violated children’s privacy and tricked gamers into making unwanted purchases.

Epic Games, the maker of the popular video game Fortnite, has reached an agreement with the Federal Trade Commission to change some default settings and to pay $520 million over allegations that it violated children’s privacy and used “design tricks” that caused players to make unwanted purchase, the FTC said Monday.

“Epic used privacy-invasive default settings and deceptive interfaces that tricked Fortnite users, including teenagers and children,” said FTC Chair Lina M. Khan in the statement about the agreement.

Epic Games will pay a $275 million penalty for privacy violations. The FTC said that Epic Games collected personal information from children under the age of 13 without the consent of their parents in violation of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act and that, by setting voice and text communications on by default, the game opened children and teens to bullying and harassment from strangers. Epic Games has also agreed to set voice and text communications off by default.

The other portion, $245 million, will be used by the FTC to refund consumers who were unfairly charged for in-game purchases. The FTC called out how Epic enticed players to make unwanted purchases and its failure to require confirmation of purchases, which allowed children and teens to purchase hundreds of dollars worth of in-game merchandise before parents knew their cards had been charged.

In a statement posted to Epic Games’ website, the company accepted the decision and called on the gaming industry to adopt practices that better reflect today’s gaming environment, saying, “No developer creates a game with the intention of ending up here.”

“Statutes written decades ago don’t specify how gaming ecosystems should operate. The laws have not changed, but their application has evolved and long-standing industry practices are no longer enough. We accepted this agreement because we want Epic to be at the forefront of consumer protection and provide the best experience for our players,” the post read.

The agreement is subject to a 30-day comment period. The FTC will disburse the $245 million for eligible customers.

Technologies

Six Flags shares decline following deadly roller coaster incident

One person died and several others were injured in an incident involving the Goliath roller coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia, according to reports.

Shares of Six Flags Entertainment declined more than 16% Tuesday following a deadly roller coaster incident at one of its amusement parks in Georgia.

One person died and several others were injured Monday in an incident at Six Flags Over Georgia, according to a statement from Georgia’s Cobb County Board of Commissioners. The board’s chairwoman, Lisa N. Cupid, said that county authorities are working with Six Flags and other partners in the investigation.

According to reports citing local police, the incident occurred on the Atlanta-area park’s 200-foot-tall Goliath roller coaster shortly before 4 p.m. Monday. Riders were later seen being evacuated from the roller coaster after it stopped near the top of the ride, according to the report.

Witnesses told a local news station that they saw a man fall from the roller coaster and strike the ride several times.

In a statement to ABC News, a Six Flags spokesperson said it is cooperating fully with the investigation and had temporarily closed similar attractions across its parks.

Six Flags did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

Tuesday’s decline is on pace to be the stock’s worst day since August and puts shares at their lowest level since December 2009. Shares have now fallen by more than 50% over the past year.

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Technologies

French supermarket fridges get hacked, heating to 122°F and sparking fires

Hackers targeted hundreds of French supermarkets in a large-scale cyberattack, causing refrigerators to overheat, spoiling food, and sparking fires.

Hackers targeted hundreds of French supermarkets in a cyberattack that reportedly caused refrigerators and freezers to overheat, spoiling food and sparking fires.

Fridges at French supermarket chains Carrefour, Monoprix, the Les Mousquetaires-owned Intermarché, and Coopérative U, among others, all saw fridges heat up to as much as 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) overnight, Reuters reported Monday.

Coopérative U’s CEO, Dominique Schelcher, confirmed that cyberattacks had affected “refrigeration production facilities of several stores.”

“Attacking equipment that is essential to the preservation of fresh products and the food supply of the French people is extremely serious and unprecedented. It is unacceptable,” Schelcher said in a LinkedIn post.

CNBC has reached out to Carrefour, Monoprix, Intermarché, Coopérative U and E Leclerc for comment but did not immediately hear back.

Felix Aime, a senior cyberthreat intelligence analyst at Sekoia Threat Detection and Research, said the attack affected several European countries, including Spain, Portugal, Poland, Germany and Belgium, according to the Reuters article.

“I strongly condemn the cyberattack targeting food products at @intermarche @CooperativeU @Leclerc,” European Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Christophe Hansen said in a post on X on Monday.

“Food security requires more attention at all levels. Because the weaponization of food has become a reality.”

AI enhancing cyberattacks

Les Mousquetaires said it was expecting the damages, which affected around 180 stores, to reach “several million euros in losses,” in an email to CNBC.

It said some fresh and frozen food displays have been out of service after the cyberattack affected one of its service providers responsible for managing refrigeration systems inside some stores.

“Intermarché and Netto have taken all necessary precautions to remove and dispose of any affected products as quickly as possible, to ensure consumer safety,” the Les Mousquetaires spokesperson said. “In some stores, the overheating of equipment resulted in smoke, but no fires have been reported.”

They’re now awaiting findings from a court-appointed bailiff and insurance experts to get more precise figures on damages.

Stop & Shop parent Ahold Delhaize

This comes amid a broader wave of cyberattacks and cybercrimes, which experts are warning are being enhanced by artificial intelligence. British online fashion retailer Asos experienced a cybersecurity breach last week which revealed some customers’ personal information.

Meanwhile, a small power plant in the U.K. was shut down for four days in July after a cyberattack which was suspected to be linked to Iran.

Interpol’s global chief information security officer, Bjorn R. Watne, recently told CNBC that AI can be used to target multiple victims at once, and is increasing the scale and speed of cyberattacks. “It’s an evolution and not a revolution.”

Correction: Bjorn R. Watne is global chief information security officer at Interpol. An earlier version misspelled his name.

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Technologies

Apple releases HomeView smart home hub with screen as showcase for Siri AI

The iPhone maker also announced the new Apple TV 4K and HomePod Mini.

Apple on Tuesday announced a new home hub called HomeView.

Apple said the device with a 7-inch screen was designed to be mounted on a wall or placed on a table. It’s designed for multiple people in a household, and will recognize the user by their face to display pertinent information. It starts at $299 and ships on Nov. 13.

Tuesday’s launch event is the second under new CEO John Ternus, who took over from Tim Cook in September. Last month, Apple announced new models of its most important product, the iPhone, including a foldable model called the Duo that retails for nearly $2,000.

Apple also announced new Apple TV and HomePod hardware on Tuesday. The new Apple TV 4K costs $299 and has a redesigned remote that can play a sound if it is lost. Apple’s HomePod Mini speaker comes in new colors and costs $149, a slight increase over its previous $129 price.

The products announced Tuesday are less critical for Apple than the iPhone, and investors remain focused on iPhone sales, but the accessories were positioned on Tuesday as a showcase for the company’s new Siri abilities released last month.

Apple said that HomeView features Siri AI, which can answer a broad range of questions. Users will be able to converse with Siri, and their conversations will continue on their iPhone or iPad. It has a built-in speaker for playing music.

“It recognizes your face to shift from a household screen to your own experience, fills the room with incredible sound, keeps you connected to the people who matter most with FaceTime, and makes it easy to control your smart home,” Apple’s chief marketer Greg Joswiak said in a statement.

Apple said that HomeView will show information from the Messages, Photos, Calendar, and Reminders apps based on who is using the device, powered by Apple Intelligence. It can also be used to make FaceTime calls and as a digital photo frame. It’s equipped with an Apple A18 chip. It supports up to six users.

But while Apple has dabbled in home products and platforms in the past, Tuesday’s announcement shows Apple is making its home products a higher priority under Ternus.

Apple said on Tuesday that its new products, including HomeView, can be used as a smart home hub, coordinating notifications and actions in the home and working with a range of products, including new locks, doorbells, and cameras from LG Electronics and Schneider Electric.

Apple’s integration with the smart home is not just about sales but also helps further lock customers into its own ecosystem. People who use multiple Apple products and connections are less likely to switch to an Android phone.

HomeView can also become a smart home dashboard, Apple said. It can be used to view camera feeds, adjust the thermostat, or lock connected doors around the house.

Apple said that setting up a new smart home device takes one tap from the user’s iPhone.

Tuesday’s launch shows Apple’s confidence as it launches new product categories. But the broader consumer electronics industry has been dealing with price increases and demand deterioration related to component shortages in memory and storage. It also comes as new boss Ternus has reportedly pushed the company to release products faster.

Apple’s new Apple TV 4K got a price hike from $199 to $299, and comes after a similar price increase earlier this year, after Cook said that memory costs for Apple were unsustainable.

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