“According to a US Federal Trade Commission report filed today, Amazon has billed parents and other account holders for millions of dollars in unauthorized in-app charges incurred by children,” Electronista reports. “The FTC’s lawsuit seeks a court order requiring refunds for consumers for the unauthorized charges and permanently banning the company from billing parents and other account holders for in-app charges that have been made without their consent.”
“Reports have circulated that Apple’s general counsel sent a Consumer Reports investigation to the FTC to inform the regulatory board of Amazon’s policies,” Electronista reports. “Unlike Apple’s complaints, the FTC’s complaint against Amazon notes that there were no password requirements of any kind on in-app charges when the Amazon Appstore launched in November of 2011, including on apps that appeal to children. The complaint highlights internal communications among Amazon employees pointing out that allowing unlimited in-app charges without any password was ‘clearly causing problems for a large percentage of our customers,’ and adding that the situation was a ‘near house on fire.'”
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Jax44” for the heads up.]
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