EU to Apple: Why no spending reform for mobile games?

The European Commission has criticized Apple for not taking appropriate steps to curb in-app purchases in online and mobile games available on Apple devices. 

|
Elise Amendola/AP/File
A shopper walks by an Apple store in Peabody, Mass., June 9, 2014.

The European Commission criticized Apple on Friday for failing to address the problem of in-app purchases made in online and mobile games. 

The problem is particularly acute, the Commission noted, when it comes to children unknowingly making in-app purchases while playing games. 

In response to a high number of consumer complaints in EU member countries, European national authorities began working with the European Commission to find solutions, according to an EU release

"This is significant for consumers. In particular, children must be better protected when playing online," said EU Commissioner for Consumer Policy Neven Mimica, in the release.

Among the reforms being pushed by the Commission include omission of the word "free" from games that ultimately accrue costs for the user; an end to games that push children to buy items within the game that cost real money; and sufficient information provided to consumers prior to making purchases, which cannot be made through stored debit or credit card information "without consumers' explicit consent." 

"The Commission is very supportive of innovation in the app sector. In-app purchases are a legitimate business model, but it's essential for app-makers to understand and respect EU law while they develop these new business models," said European Commission Vice President Neelie Kroes, who is responsible for the Commission's Digital Agenda, in the release. 

The Commission pointed to Google, which owns the Android mobile operating system, as a positive example of reform for in-app purchasing. For example, the Commission notes, the word "free" will no longer appear anywhere in games sold by Google that contain in-app purchases. And it has altered the default settings of its apps to require that payments be authorized before each purchase. 

But Apple, which makes the iPhone, was singled out for what the Commission says is its failure to offer a coherent solution. 

"Regrettably, no concrete and immediate solutions have been made by Apple to date to address the concerns linked in particular to payment authorisation," the release states. While it adds that Apple has said it will address concerns linked to payment authorization, it notes that "no firm commitment and no timing have been provided for the implementation of such possible future changes." 

For its part, Apple says any app sold in its App Store that allows for in-app purchases has been sufficiently labeled for consumers. 

"Over the last year we made sure any app which enables customers to make in-app purchases is clearly marked," said an Apple spokesman. "We will continue to work with the EC member states to respond to their concerns."

Europe's large and growing app industry employs more than 1 million people and generates an annual revenue of around $13.53 billion, with 80 percent of that number coming from in-app purchases, according to Reuters, citing the European Commission. 

The business model of in-app purchases has caused a stir on American shores of late as well, with the Federal Trade Commission filing a lawsuit against online mega-retailer Amazon last week for generating millions of dollars in revenue through children making in-app purchases on apps sold in the Amazon Appstore that were then charged to their unknowing parents. The FTC settled a similar case against Apple in January with Apple agreeing to "refund to customers at least $32.5 million in unauthorized charges made by children and to change its billing practices to require consent from parents for in-app spending," according to Reuters.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to EU to Apple: Why no spending reform for mobile games?
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/Technology/Horizons/2014/0718/EU-to-Apple-Why-no-spending-reform-for-mobile-games
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe