Google to refund $19 million- The company has agreed on a $19 settlement with parents who were unjustly billed for their children's unauthorized purchases while playing video games like Air Penguins and Ice Age Village on tablets and smartphones.
Parents would sometimes be surprised by some charges on their credit cards they did not even make themselves only to find out later their kids had made payments without permission for an app game. Google's refund $19 million settlement reportedly came after thousands of complaints were made.
On Thursday, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced the Google refund $19 million settlement said to be similar to Apple's $32.5 million agreement in January. Both are said to be parts of FTC's case about unauthorized in-app purchases made by children, the Latin Post has learned.
In the case of Google refund $19 million settlement, the FTC claimed it had started receiving reports about kids' unauthorized purchases since 2011 with charges ranging from $0.99 to $200. The in-app charges that Google Play introduced in 2011 were not protected by password. Thus, children were able to buy virtual items with just a click on pop up boxes within an app while they play, the FTC said on its complaint.
In late 2012, Google set up a pop-up box that required for a password before payment. However, there was still a 30-minute window in granting permission for purchase allowing children to buy virtual items without re-entering a password. FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez reportedly said that along the consumers' embrace of mobile technology should come their protection from being charged for unauthorized purchased.
Aside from the Google refund $19 million settlement, the company had also agreed to make changes to its billing system to ensure that parents are made aware and agree to purchases that their kids make, Reuters reported.
Meanwhile, Google said that it enforced changes in March 2014 to make it clearer to customers that real -as opposed to virtual - money was being spent. It also said that it provided consumers with the option to be prompted to enter a password with every purchase as part of blocking off unauthorized charges by kids.
"We're glad to put this matter behind us so we can focus on creating more ways for people to enjoy all the entertainment they love," a company spokeswoman said of the Google refund $19 million settlement.
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