European Union officials will meet with representatives from Apple, Google and the Consumer Protection Agency on Thursday and Friday to discuss how developers make their apps available to European consumers.
The goal of the meetings is to institutionalize new rules aimed at transparency in app development and to implement new regulations to prevent children from making random purchases.
The EU says the app industry in Europe will be worth $86.46 billion over the next five years. Stricter rules on how and where they shop will ensure consumers know exactly what they are buying, the EU's Justice Committee has said.
The four main issues for addressing consumer deception, according to the EU, are the following:
– Games advertised as “free” must not mislead consumers about the actual cost they incur.
– Games should not contain direct pressure on children to buy items or persuade an adult to buy for them.
– Consumers should be adequately informed about payment arrangements and purchases and should not be charged with default settings without their explicit consent.
– Traders should provide an email address so that consumers can contact them in case of questions or complaints.
US authorities have also been involved with Apple over regulations surrounding in-app payments. The company was sued this year, resulting in it paying consumers $32.5 million for accidental app purchases made by children.
This settlement resulted in Apple changing its pricing policies and preventing unintended transactions.
