The European Commission on Friday warned Apple and Google to stop misleading game players of “free” games with hidden in-app purchases costs.
The EU has urged the tech giants to be clear about the “true cost” of games as many popular titles on Google Play and iOS App Store, initially claimed as free to download, require the users to pay money or make in-app purchases in order to unlock new parts of the game, ending in racking up huge credit card bills.
The European Union, highlighting the steps Google has taken in this regard, which includes banning the word “free” from games that contain in-app purchases in the Google Play store and changing the default settings to require payments to be actively authorized by the user before any in-app purchase by the end of September, has particularly criticized Apple for not being serious to address the concerns.
The Commission said in a statement that the Cupertino has not yet come up with any concrete and immediate solution to address payment authorization and other linked concerns which it had proposed to make earlier and that it has failed to provide any firm commitment or timing for the implementation of such possible changes in the future.
EU warned that national authorities could exercise the option to take legal action against any company that fails to comply with Europe-wide guidelines on free apps.
In response to the European Commission’s warning, Apple said in a statement that it has already initiated implementing controls on in-app purchases. The iPad maker said it would continue to work together with the European Commission to address in-app payments and other linked concerns.
