A post on The Washington Post reports that various lawmakers in United States have asked the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate certain deceptive practices related to in-app purchases. There are some games available on Apple’s App Store that are initially free but the users are charged for buying virtual things related to the games within the application.
The post reports that Rep. Edward J. Markey (Mass.), Sens. Amy Klobuchar (Minn.) and Mark Pryor (Ark.) separetly wrote letters to FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz, asking the agency to investigate games which allow in-app purchases.
Many parents have complained that free apps that are geared toward children can charge as high as $99 for buying virtual items. These in-app purchases are protected with a password. However, parents say that these safeguards are not strong enough and steep charges for buying imaginary items should not be part of children’s games.
Companies shouldn’t be able to use smurfs and snowflakes and zoos as online ATMs, pulling money from the pockets of unsuspecting parents,” says Markey. “The use of mobile apps will continue to escalate, which is why it is critical that more is done now to examine these practices. I will continue to closely monitor this issue and look forward to the FTC’s response.”
Markey, a veteran member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said “in-app” purchases may be misleading. When a parent downloads an application suitable for young children, they do not expect their children to be faced with purchase options worth of $19 buckets of snowflakes.
FTC conformed that it has received the letters, but declined to comment. Apple was sent a copy of Markey’s letter but declined to comment on the issue.
In-app purchases have been considered as an alternate revenue source for iPhone developers. Many studies have predicted it to become a potent revenue-model for mobile app developers in future. Hence, it would be interesting to see how the FTC investigation goes.
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