Amazon to Refund $70M in Unauthorized App Purchases Made by Kids

Amazon has finally agreed to reimburse parents of children who made unauthorized app purchases from their store that occurred within the period of November 2011 through May 2016. The online retail giant has been dragging their feet in court and although they already agreed to issue the refund earlier, Amazon requested that the judge allow the refunds to be issued as gift certifications or in-store credits instead which was promptly denied. The company eventually withdrew their appeal related to the case on Tuesday.

A US federal district court found in April 2016 that Amazon charged customers for unauthorized app fees incurred by children using mobile apps downloaded through the company’s app store. The court requires that for any purchase to be a valid transaction, the children would have to have parents’ consent first.

“This case demonstrates what should be a bedrock principle for all companies — you must get customers’ consent before you charge them,” says Thomas B. Pahl, acting director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Consumers affected by Amazon’s practices can now be compensated for charges they didn’t expect or authorize.”

The Federal Trade Commision had also brought similar charges to Apple and Google previously, related to unauthorized in-app charges made by children requiring the companies to fully refund consumers for such charges.