FTC, Apple pays for in-app payments - Computer Point

New

agreement from Cupertino with the U.S. authorities to reimburse reckless transactions via the app and change the child process

Rome – Apple has reached a settlement with the FTC relating to its system of payment app , accused of favoring purchases compulsive content freemium and in particular those made by children through the devices of the parents.

Cupertino had already reached an agreement with users who were carrying out a class action the center with the same issues related to in-app payment system: according to them, the system adopted by Apple allowed the children to spend hundreds of dollars (of parents) of freemium applications, free and paid content, but at the center of ‘ prosecution initiated by the U.S. parent Garen Meguerian, the lack of clarity from Apple about the possibility that the free app defined, however, would provide some kind of cash outlay.

Through settlement agreement with which he had agreed with the users, Apple had agreed to make a refund with gift certificates from $ 5 to all types of content purchased by minors without parental consent, arriving to repay the full amount in cases where the transactions involved were above 30 dollars and only if users had submitted the individual histories of purchase.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) had opened the investigation into the purchasing system to the entire app in iOS after notification from the Democratic Representative Edward Markey in Congress. Under the agreement now reached, Apple agrees to to allocate a minimum repayments of $ 32.5 million and is committed to changing the procedures for payment in-app, so be sure to to obtain the express consent of each transaction and informed consumer.

In 2011, however, Cupertino decided to change part of the system requiring users to re-enter your password each time you purchase, so as to curb compulsive shopping .

Claudio Tamburrino