Scalper1 News
The Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday said Apple (AAPL) has agreed to refund at least $32.5 million to consumers to settle an FTC complaint over a business practice that sounds a lot like a stunt pulled by late great comedian Soupy Sales. Apple (AAPL) billed consumers for millions of dollars in charges incurred by children in kids’ mobile apps without their parents’ consent. Apple agreed to pay full refunds to consumers and to change its billing practices to ensure that it has obtained express, informed consent from consumers before charging them for items sold in mobile apps. “This settlement is a victory for consumers harmed by Apple’s unfair billing,” FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez said in a statement. “You cannot charge consumers for purchases they did not authorize.” Apple offers many games and kids’ apps in its App Store that allow users to incur charges within the apps. Many of these charges are for virtual items or currency used in playing a game. The charges can range from 99 cents to $99.99 per in-app charge, the FTC said. The FTC complaint alleges that Apple does not inform account holders that entering their password will open a 15-minute window in which children can incur unlimited charges with no further action from the account holder. Plus, Apple often presented a screen with a prompt for a parent to enter his or her password in a kids’ app without explaining to the account holder that password entry would finalize a purchase. Scalper1 News
Scalper1 News