Amazon have refused to take on regulated app improvements demanded by the FTC this week, stating that the commission leaves them little choice beyond court action. The enforcements would offer restricted terms on in-app purchases following a high volume of complaints regarding unwanted purchases, the Wall Street Journal have reported.
The Federal Trade Commission have issued a request to the online giant to alter it’s devices’ app interface in aid of tighter parental controls, thereby preventing children from making unapproved purchases at the account holders expense. The suggested model is not unlike the system Apple implemented earlier this year. Alterations would involve a clear warning to users prior to all individual transactions concerning the exchange of real world money within it’s applications, as well as required password entry (similar to the Apple ID system) and a total overhaul of the company’s current refund process.
In a letter to the FTC, published on Tuesday, Amazon stated “The commission’s unwillingness to depart from the precedent it set with Apple despite our very different facts leaves us no choice but to defend our approach in court”. Amazon have always had great emphasis on their customer support and relations, and have taken the implication of their inability to appropriately deal with complaints and refunds seriously. Andrew C. DeVore, an Amazon associate general counsel responsible for the letter stated, “When customers told us their kids had made purchases they didn’t want, we refunded those purchases”. The Seattle based company believe their interaction with device users is more than sufficient without the regulations the FTC seek to enforce, claiming the presence of “prominent notice of in-app purchasing, effective parental controls and real-time notice of every in-app purchase.”
It goes without saying, Amazon’s Kindle series of tablets face the greatest part of the pressure on behalf of the company, with the FTC stating Amazon have “often failed to obtain parents’ or other account holders’ informed consent to in-app charges incurred by children”. However the device already allows users the option to utilise parental controls, including the option to set a PIN restricting all in-app purchases. DeVore claims that the company currently leads the industry in terms of parental controls with Kindle Free Time, and they are unwilling to back down in spite of FTC accusations.
The opinion of the online community has been divided thus far, as the prospect of accidental purchase refunds has always lead to a certain split in ethics. A great deal of people back Amazon’s decision to stand against the Federal Trade Commission – Amazon’s current interface allows account holders to make an executive choice whether or not to utilise restrictive controls, allowing parents protection from unwarranted purchases by children, as raised by the FTC, whilst also catering to those that wish to use their device unhindered. Following Apple’s settlement with the commission, the app store has implemented several prohibitive methods that have served to frustrate many iOS users.
Amazon’s standoffish attitude on this matter does not appear to be a product of unwillingness to prevent accidental purchases as the FTC have suggested. Rather, the company wish to self-regulate, believing themselves to be more intimately in tune with the needs and desires of it’s users than a third party.
