Google will change the way that it labels games listed on the Google Play Store in Europe, agreeing to drop the "free" tag for games with in-app purchases.
The change is at the behest of the European Commission, which has been investigating the case of users making unwanted in-app purchases, whether by themselves or made by their children on their devices.
The European Commission has released guidelines for the compliance of app stores and developers regarding games with in-app purchases.
The enforcement of the guidelines is the very first of its kind that saw national authorities and the European Commission work together, with tangible results being delivered.
"It has demonstrated that cooperation pays off and helps to improve the protection of consumers in all Member States," said Neven Mimica, EU Commissioner for Consumer Policy, in a statement.
The statement reported the four requests made by national authorities regarding the matter. First, that games that are marked as "free" should not be misleading when there are other costs involved. Second, that games should not force children or the parents of children to make purchases within the game. Third, that users should be properly informed about how the payments for purchases will be made, and not automatically debited under a user's account without explicit consent. Fourth, that developers and publishers of games should provide contact details so that users can reach out to them for any questions or complaints regarding their games.
The statement also said that the requests have been communicated to Google, Apple and the Interactive Software Federation of Europe in December of last year.
The European Commission acknowledged the response of Google. which outlined several changes that the company said it will be making to address the aforementioned issues, and that the changes will be completed by the end of September this year.
Google said that games listed in its Play Store will no longer be tagged as "free" when they contain in-app purchases. The company also said that it will be creating specific guidelines for Android developers that will prevent children from making unwanted and uncontrolled in-app purchases, along with time-based measures that will alert Google of violations of EU consumer laws. Google also said that it has changed its default settings to require authorizations for every payment to be made for in-app purchases.
While Google has communicated with the European Commission of their plans to address the issues, Apple has not yet made any immediate and concrete solutions to the problem of payment authorization. While Apple has sent in proposals, the company has not yet made any commitments and submitted any schedules regarding the implementation of changes.
National authorities are charged with the enforcement, along with the filing of legal action if necessary, of the outstanding legal problems involving the issue.
