On this episode of Protecting Your Money, Randy Hutchinson, President and CEO of the Better Business Bureau of the Mid-South, looks at a major Federal Trade Commission (FTC) settlement involving the wildly popular video game "Genshin Impact."
Although the game is free to download, millions of young players have been encouraged to make in-game purchases, sometimes spending hundreds or even thousands of dollars without fully realizing it.
Hutchinson explains how the FTC says the company behind the game violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by allowing purchases without proper parental consent, and how aggressive influencer marketing on platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Twitch made the game even more appealing to children.
He also discusses what COPPA requires of companies that market to kids, and offers guidance for parents trying to keep up with how today’s games really work, including what they can cost.