FTC to investigate iOS purchases in app policy

Chairman letter on random purchases

FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said confirmed plans to investigate Apple in app purchase (IAP) policies for i/o devices. Despite the recent buzz surrounding the new app Store rules for content subscription Leibowitz wrote a letter to representative Ed Markey, who primarily problems of children, unknowingly purchase virtual items are billed iTunes parents ...

"We fully share your concern that consumers, especially children, are unlikely to understand the consequences of these types of purchases," Leibowitz wrote in a letter to Markey, after policy Massachusetts asked the Agency to investigate "promotion and delivery of applications with IAP content, according to excerpts from letters that appeared in the Washington Post.

What may appear in these games virtual coins and prizes for children are very real costs for parents, "said Markey.

Separate reports indicate that the FTC and the Department of Justice also are looking for with Apple's new policies on content subscriptions that have been met with criticism from a number of developers. Rules force developers to offer equivalent subscription via iTunes and not rely solely on external channels, as well as the introduction of pricing constraints on content sold through other means.

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