Member Article

Lawsuit filed against Google over In-App Purchases made by Children

The search engine giant is facing legal action by angry US parents over purchases their children have made in games without their permission. This lawsuit was filed representing all the U.S. citizens that have paid for unwanted game currency through the Google Play Store by their children. The lawsuit claimed that Google was not doing enough to prevent unauthorized in-app purchases.

In-app purchases are becoming a nuisance for parents who allow their kids to play free mobile games on their smartphones and tablets. This particular suit was filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California by Llana Imber-Gluck, a New York mother, whose child spent $68.95 on the “Crystal” virtual currency in the Marvel Run Jump Smash game without her consent.

Berger & Montague, the law firm representing the mother stated that Google has unfairly profited by marketing low-cost or free games to children. They are also permitting them to rack up additional expenses with ease for worthless in-game currency, by failing to incorporate reasonable controls like filling in the entry of a PIN or a password.

This case against Google is similar to one against Apple brought by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over in-app purchases made by children. In January, Apple had even made an agreement to refund $32.5 million back to its customers in a similar statement. Google requires a password when downloading or buying games, but does not require its users to re-enter the password during the game.

The U.S. is not the only country that has addressed this concern. European Union officials met with representatives from both Apple and Google last month to discuss the creation of new rules to govern in-app purchases. Unlike Google, Apple had changed its practices, enabling its users to enter their PIN or password for all in-app purchases.

Read more at: http://google-android-application-developer.blogspot.com/2014/03/lawsuit-filed-against-google-over-in.html

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by IndiaNIC Infotech .