Apple will reimburse more than $ 32 million for expenses "no ... - RTVE

RTVE.es / AGENCIES

telco Apple reimburse at least EUR 23.86 million ($ 32.5 million) to its U.S. customers to offset a prolonged claim for expenses incurred by the child application usage without parental consent.

Federal Trade Commission U.S. (English Federal Trade Commission, FTC) announced on Wednesday the terms of the agreement, which also Apple will be asked to change their billing systems to ensure that parental consent is obtained before to charge for the use of these applications.

“A basic principle of consumer protection is that the company must obtain the informed consent of the consumer before charge for any goods or services. announce that Apple has agreed to resolve a complaint from the Federal Trade Commission alleging that the company had breached that principle, “said the director of the FTC, Edith Ramirez.

Estimates

FTC, children have spent millions of dollars without their parents’ knowledge. According to the testimony of a mother picked up by Reuters, her daughter came to spend $ 2,600 in the game Tap Pet Hotel.

Apple criticized, but accepted the decision

memory directed to employees, the CEO of Apple, Tim Cook, has referred to a class action settlement reached in June, the company will require the expenditure of about $ 100 million to compensate parents whose children made unauthorized payments.

“It feels good that the FTC sue us for a case that had already been solved. For us, it’s like a double jeopardy” claimed Cook.

“However, the consent decree proposed by the FTC does not make us anything we were not already doing, so we decided to accept it rather than get into a legal battle that prolonge the issue and distract us,” adds Cook.

Apple shares have shown a slight response to this news arriving in the mid afternoon to 2.1% at $ 558.03, maintaining gains subsequently published.

The company will inform the account holder

commission, according to Ramirez, has come to receive “tens of thousands of complaints” from consumers on unauthorized expenditures through applications like Dragon Story and Tiny Zoo Friends.

FTC complaint alleges that Apple does not inform account holders , to enter your password on the App Store (App Store) your company open for 15 minutes a window in which minors may incur unlimited spending without the owner perform any action.

While

refunds will be available for purchases made through apps aimed at children , from now on all Apple applications include new explanations, although these have not yet been specified.

committee vote to accept the agreement has been 3-1, with Commissioner Joshua Wright, republican, exercising voting against. In a statement, Wright has argued that the FTC has failed to show that the “extremely small” group of consumers affected warrant a company that has been unfair.