Apple’s general counsel reportedly informed the FTC of Google’s app store and in-app purchases by kids

BY Evan Selleck

Published 9 Jul 2014

in-app purchase notification

In early 2014, Apple was forced to make some changes to the way that in-app purchases are made through the App Store, so that it wasn’t so easy for kids to just wander into an app and rack up a high bill for parents. A new report suggests that Apple’s general counsel may have been the one to report Google to the FTC for the same issue.

In January, 2014, Apple reached a settlement with the FTC over in-app purchases, with the ultimate goal to make them a bit harder, and clearer. It led to Apple scrambling to make those changes by March, when the FTC had enacted the deadline. It more than likely had something to do with the changes to Family Sharing, which now lets a family share a credit card, but always gives the owner of the card the ability to confirm or deny any purchases made through it.

A new report from Politico suggests that after the settlement, Apple’s general counsel, Bruce Sewell, reached out to the FTC and pointed out an article that showcased Google as also being guilty of the same thing the FTC had settled with Apple over.

From the report:

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…

It’s no secret that Apple considered the move by the FTC unfair, considering it had already settled the original in-app purchase case with a Federal judge. The FTC forced Apple to notify the 28 million customers reportedly affected by the situation, to make sure that they could be reimbursed, among other orders. Apple had pointed out, during the trial, that they had considered fighting the FTC for what they believed to be a double jeopardy situation, but decided against it because they had already chosen to notify customers in the way the FTC was telling them to.

As a result, and not wanting to be the sole company in the spotlight for an obvious widespread issue, it’s reported that Apple’s general counselor reached out to the FTC to report them for the same issues:

Behind the scenes, Apple sought to convince regulators it shouldn’t be singled out for blame. Sewell, the company’s general counsel, shared with Ramirez and Brill a Consumer Reports story that faulted Google for allowing your “kid to spend like a drunken sailor” for 30 minutes after an adult initially entered a password.

Unauthorized in-app purchases were certainly an issue, but companies have since made changes to make the problem less prevalent. Amazon, which is already under investigation by the FTC, has already made changes to the way in-app purchases are handled, much in the same way that Apple handled their own App Store policies. Despite the fact that Google has, too, made changes, it’s beginning to look like they could fall under the FTC’s spotlight soon enough as well.

[via GigaOm; Politoco]