Google and its Play Store may be next in line to face scrutiny from the Federal Trade Commission. Reports say an Apple lawyer has urged the commission to look into Google's policies on in-app purchases roughly a week after his own company was struck with $32.5 million fine.
A major part of Apple's undoing in the case over in-app purchases was said to have been a 15-minute, post-purchase window the company allowed for purchases to be tacked onto the original charge. Apple reportedly alleges in a previously concealed document that Google's policies were much more lax than its own, allowing 30 minutes after the original purchase for items to be charged to the account that paid for the app.
After filing a Freedom of Information Act request, Politico has reportedly uncovered an email that Bruce Sewell, Apple's top lawyer, sent to FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez and Commissioner Julie Brill. In the email, Sewell urged the FTC to look into Google's policies on in-app purchases.
"I thought this article might be of some interest, particularly if you have not already seen it," said Sewell as he pointed the FTC to a Consumer Reports story in which Google's 30-minute, post-purchase policy was said to have allowed a child to "spend like a drunken sailor."
After coming to terms with Apple in the January 2014 settlement, the FTC heralded the $32.5 million fine as a major win for consumers.
"This settlement is a victory for consumers harmed by Apple's unfair billing, and a signal to the business community: whether you're doing business in the mobile arena or the mall down the street, fundamental consumer protections apply," stated Ramirez. "You cannot charge consumers for purchases they did not authorize."
But if the FTC plans on going after Google over the tech company's past policies on in-app purchases, which have now been revised, the commission may wait until its case against Amazon plays out. The United States' largest online retailer has refused to settle with the FTC on in-app purchases and may be preparing to fight the matter inside of a courtroom.
Amazon has maintained that it has done enough to address user complaints of unwanted purchases made by children, though the FTC stated that the online retailer imposed too many hurdles for consumers looking to receive refunds for in-app purchases made on the company's AppStore.
"Pursuing litigation against a company whose practices were lawful from the outset and that already meet or exceed the requirements of the Apple consent order makes no sense, and is an unfortunate misallocation of the commission's resources," stated an Amazon lawyer in a letter to the FTC.
