TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - EU Commissioner for Consumer Policy Neven Mimica on Friday said that EU efforts to stop children from conducting in-app transactions without parental guidance have been going well.
These kind of apps can be downloaded for free, but when users want to enjoy other features or add more scores to the game, they will be asked to pay a certain amount of money through credit card transaction. So, they are not really free apps.
“Children must be better protected when playing online,” said Neven as quoted by Information Week website on Monday.
EU Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) has decided that games or apps advertised as free must not misrepresent the cost to consumers. Even though the fee to download is free, the EU bans the label “free”.
In response, Google has removed the term “free” from games or apps with in-app format in Google Play store.
The CPC also found ambiguous information about games and apps in Apple’s iTunes store. The CPC said Apple must provide details of the games and apps they offer.
Apple then released guidelines for app developers to fulfill if they want to sell their apps in iTunes. They are obligated to provide complete information about the apps they created.
For developers, this regulation likely means less revenue from selling virtual goods. On the other hand, this regulation could encourage developers to be more creative. Developers will have to focus on gameplay, to create genuine engagement and revenue opportunities, rather than manipulative monetization techniques,” wrote Information Week.
Apple did not respond to request for comment. Some European countries put concerns on Apple’s latest operating system iOS 8 which claimed to have layered data security. They expected the security system to prevent children from accessing forbidden apps for children.
INFORMATION WEEK | SATWIKA MOVEMENTI