Apple will refund a minimum of $32.5 million to customers who have complained about in-app purchases made without parental consent. Highlighting one example of a young girl who spent $2,600 on the game Tap Pet Hotel, the settlement also obliges Apple to change their billing system to prevent minors from unintentionally spending money on in-app purchases.
Apple's CEO Tim Cook, looking sad recently.
Apple claims, however, that it was intending to make these repayments all along, with Apple's CEO Tim Cook addressing employees to explain the ruling.
"It doesn't feel right for the FTC to sue over a case that had already been settled," he said. "To us, it smacked of double jeopardy. However, the consent decree the FTC proposed does not require us to do anything we weren't already going to do, so we decided to accept it rather than take on a long and distracting legal fight."
Apple claims, however, that it was intending to make these repayments all along, with Apple's CEO Tim Cook addressing employees to explain the ruling.
"It doesn't feel right for the FTC to sue over a case that had already been settled," he said. "To us, it smacked of double jeopardy. However, the consent decree the FTC proposed does not require us to do anything we weren't already going to do, so we decided to accept it rather than take on a long and distracting legal fight."
