Scolds Apple in-app purchases

The Commission criticizes Apple for not offering “concrete and immediate” plans to stop users from being misled by “free” apps. Many popular apps in the company’s app store are free to download but are designed to tempt users to pay for upgrades or in-game enhancements to allow quicker progression. The Commission now forces the biggest vendors of apps, Apple and Google, to make the “true cost” of games clear, but singles out Apple for its failure to make a commitment to change. Apple, however, says it is doing “more than others’ to protect parents by giving the latter more control over what their kids can buy on its app store.

European Commission: CPC [consumer protection co-operation] authorities will continue to engage with Apple to ensure that it provides specific details of changes required and put its practices into line with the common position.