“Amazon.com Inc is fighting U.S. regulators’ demands that it pay a penalty over its policies on purchases made by children on smartphone applications, according to documents seen by Reuters,” Diane Bartz reports for Reuters. “Amazon, the largest U.S. online retailer, faces a potential lawsuit from the Federal Trade Commission, which wants the company to enter into a settlement similar to the one reached with rival Apple Inc in January.”
“In a draft complaint, the FTC said there have been thousands of complaints related to millions of dollars in unauthorized in-app charges by children on Amazon devices. The agency said Amazon only changed its in-app charging policies last month,” Bartz reports. “‘The commission’s unwillingness to depart from the precedent it set with Apple despite our very different facts leaves us no choice but to defend our approach in court,’ Andrew DeVore, an Amazon associate general counsel, said in the July 1 letter.”
“In January, Apple agreed to refund customers at least $32.5 million and change its billing practices to ensure it obtains consent from parents before charging for in-app spending. The FTC is pushing Amazon to refund customers, give up any profits from inappropriate activity and to compensate for the FTC’s costs,” Bartz reports. “Amazon said it was ‘deeply disappointing’ that weeks of negotiations failed to sway regulators.”
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MacDailyNews Take: Aw, Amazon’s tiny little man is upset. Too bad.