Apple Points FTC Regulators to Investigate Google Over In-App Purchases

Apple entered into an agreement with the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) earlier this year, where they promised to refund millions of parents whose children purchased in-app items accidentally.

According to a report from Politico, Google is getting in trouble for allowing children to make in-app purchases without parental consent, much like Apple was doing. Bruce Sewell, a lawyer at Apple, reportedly sent the FTC a report which highlighted the same issues with the Google Play Store.

“I thought this article might be of some interest, particularly if you have not already seen it,” Apple general counsel Bruce Sewell wrote to FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez and Democratic Commissioner Julie Brill, pointing to a report that criticized Google’s app store over the same issue of unauthorized purchases.

Apple has been facing issues with in-app purchases, especially after many parents sent in complaints. As we can see from the report, Apple was not happy to be called out by the FTC which is why they accused Google of having the same issues.

In March, Apple started sending emails to affected users and issuing refunds. Apple is set to release iOS 8 this fall with an abundance of new App Store features, including one which allows all app purchases made by children to require parental consent before they are able to purchase the app.

After being singled out by the FTC, you can bet that Apple’s next version of iOS will include more specific parental controls for in-app purchases.