20:36
Unknown
Apple to refund child purchases
by David McLaughlin and Adam Satariano, 2014-01-17 05:50:09.0
WASHINGTON/SAN FRANCISCO — Smartphone company Apple said it would refund at least $32.5m to consumers to settle a US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) complaint that it billed for mobile application purchases made by children without their parents' consent.
Under the terms of the settlement, Apple also agreed to change its billing practices to make sure that it has obtained "express, informed consent" from consumers before charging them for items sold in mobile apps.
"Consumers should not have to sacrifice basic consumer protections to enjoy the benefits of mobile technology," FTC chairwoman Edith Ramirez said at a press conference in Washington yesterday to announce the settlement. The $32.5m figure was just a floor and consumers would get full refunds to cover purchases from March 2011.
The deal comes after Apple's latest entanglement with the US government, which has stepped up its scrutiny of the Cupertino, California-based company. The iPhone maker is battling with the US justice department over a court-appointed monitor assigned to review the company's compliance with an antitrust lawsuit it lost last year regarding e-book sales.
A Senate committee last year also released a report criticising Apple for policies that allow it to avoid paying billions of dollars in US taxes.
Apple, the world's biggest company by market value, should expect the attention to continue, said David Balto, a Washington-based attorney who was previously a policy director at the FTC. The government "knows perfectly well that a case against Apple sets rules for the road".
"If they are willing to go against Apple it shows they are willing to go against anybody," Mr Balto said.
Thursday's FTC settlement stems from the billing mechanism within Apple's App Store that made it easy for children to ring up charges while playing games without the parent being aware. Many games in the App Store use what is called "in-app purchases" in which a player can pay to get more features or advance more quickly.
Apple's App Store is the digital marketplace for buying games, productivity tools, picture-taking and social-networking tools and other software for the iPhone and iPad. The company said earlier this month customers spent $10bn on the App Store last year, with almost 3-billion apps downloaded last month.
Developers who make the software applications have earned $15bn by selling their software through the Apple Store. Apple takes a 30% cut of App Store purchases.
"Protecting children has been a top priority for the App Store from the very beginning, and Apple is proud to have set the gold standard for online stores by making the App Store a safe place for customers of all ages," the company said in a statement.
The agreement with the FTC "extends our existing refund programme for in-app purchases which may have been made without a parent's permission".
Bloomberg
LINE OF FIRE: Apple CEO Tim Cook testifies in Washington DC at a Senate subcommittee hearing on offshore profit shifting and the US tax code. Picture: REUTERS
WASHINGTON/SAN FRANCISCO — Smartphone company Apple said it would refund at least $32.5m to consumers to settle a US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) complaint that it billed for mobile application purchases made by children without their parents' consent.
Under the terms of the settlement, Apple also agreed to change its billing practices to make sure that it has obtained "express, informed consent" from consumers before charging them for items sold in mobile apps.
"Consumers should not have to sacrifice basic consumer protections to enjoy the benefits of mobile technology," FTC chairwoman Edith Ramirez said at a press conference in Washington yesterday to announce the settlement. The $32.5m figure was just a floor and consumers would get full refunds to cover purchases from March 2011.
The deal comes after Apple's latest entanglement with the US government, which has stepped up its scrutiny of the Cupertino, California-based company. The iPhone maker is battling with the US justice department over a court-appointed monitor assigned to review the company's compliance with an antitrust lawsuit it lost last year regarding e-book sales.
A Senate committee last year also released a report criticising Apple for policies that allow it to avoid paying billions of dollars in US taxes.
Apple, the world's biggest company by market value, should expect the attention to continue, said David Balto, a Washington-based attorney who was previously a policy director at the FTC. The government "knows perfectly well that a case against Apple sets rules for the road".
"If they are willing to go against Apple it shows they are willing to go against anybody," Mr Balto said.
Thursday's FTC settlement stems from the billing mechanism within Apple's App Store that made it easy for children to ring up charges while playing games without the parent being aware. Many games in the App Store use what is called "in-app purchases" in which a player can pay to get more features or advance more quickly.
Apple's App Store is the digital marketplace for buying games, productivity tools, picture-taking and social-networking tools and other software for the iPhone and iPad. The company said earlier this month customers spent $10bn on the App Store last year, with almost 3-billion apps downloaded last month.
Developers who make the software applications have earned $15bn by selling their software through the Apple Store. Apple takes a 30% cut of App Store purchases.
"Protecting children has been a top priority for the App Store from the very beginning, and Apple is proud to have set the gold standard for online stores by making the App Store a safe place for customers of all ages," the company said in a statement.
The agreement with the FTC "extends our existing refund programme for in-app purchases which may have been made without a parent's permission".
Bloomberg
via Technology - Google News http://ift.tt/1aufYJ1
Put the internet to work for you.
Posted in: Tablets 4 Kids
0 comments:
Post a Comment