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Amazon Refuses to Settle with FTC Over In-App Charges

Jul 2, 2014, 1:15 PM by Eric M. Zeman

Amazon has made clear to the Federal Trade Commission that it will not settle with the government over claims it didn't adequately prevent customers from making in-app purchases. Consumers complained that children were able to easily make unwanted in-app purchases from Amazon's Appstore. Amazon has operated its own Appstore for Android and Fire OS apps since 2011. The FTC has threatened Amazon with litigation if it fails to sign a consent decree similar to the one signed by Apple earlier this year. Apple settled with the FTC for $32.5 million in order to avoid any courtroom drama. Amazon believes it responded quickly and adequately to the issue at hand and shouldn't be beholden to government action. The company said in a letter to the FTC that it will defend itself in court. The FTC argues that Amazon needs to require passwords for in-app purchases, make warnings more prominent, and make it easier for customers to receive refunds. Amazon has already provided some refunds. The FTC has yet to file formal charges.

Wall Street Journal »

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Slammer

Jul 3, 2014, 7:43 AM
edited

Parents are at fault.

From high insurance claims to inadvertent app purchases. Parents give their kids as young as toddlers expensive phones to play with. The kid drops the phone and a trip to the service center ensues. "That's why I've got insurance." Seems to be the excuse for these idiots. Then they give their pre-teens a phone without any monitoring and they wonder why they are slapped with higher bills.

It's time parents start being parents. Give your toddler an inexpensive, unbreakable toy to play with in case of drop. If you're going to give your kid a damn phone, monitor it.

I'm so sick of hearing how little Jeffrey never does anything wrong or is responsible. Blaming carriers or manufacturers for lack of control. Nothing speaks irresponsibility m...
(continues)

Doom Wolf

Amen.

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thebriang

Jul 3, 2014, 4:11 PM

Well Amazon did kind of set people up...

For the longest when you bought a kindle, it came pre-setup with the purchasers card details prepopulated. So after the initial setup steps, all you had to do was tap One Click Buy, and boom. Your kid just bought it. So it was kind of a scam, they knew what would happen, and you couldn't even remove the credit card and use a gift card.

Not to say parents should take no responsibility but still.

gfondeur

You sound like one of the idiots parents everybody it's mention in the other threads,

Tofuchong

Jul 2, 2014, 6:58 PM

Cause: STUPID parents

If you hand your $600+ phone, with all of your stored contact and password information to a child, and allow them full access to the device, you deserve what you get. Stupidity is a huge factor here; what were you expecting, your kid not to buy 60 episodes of Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers?

The onus should totally be on the responsible, legal adult to educate their own children to not be dumbasses, to respect their property, and to be responsible for what their child does. Idiocy is paramount when it comes to cellular devices and technology.

Doom Wolf

+1

I totally agree with you, Touchmydong.

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phonefreak87

Jul 2, 2014, 2:23 PM

Children should not have electronics that have your info on it

Really parents should know better than that. Giving a child a product with your account info on the device is like giving your child your debit card now days. People should learn not to trust their children with stuff like that if you want to give your child a smart phone or tablet make sure there is no payment info on the device that's why there are free apps on the market places so you don't have to pay for that ****

Bababooey

Tablets are so cheap nowadays that there's no excuse. Parents need to stop pointing fingers and use their brain cells.

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