Games like Candy Crush will soon be losing their "free" label in the Google Play Store.
Google
agreed that it will change the way it labels apps in Google Play so
that games with in-app purchases will no longer be listed as "free." The
change is in response to meetings with the European Commission, which
has expressed concerns over how Google and Apple represent freemium apps
to consumers.
The
EU Commissions said in a statement it "had made real progress" in its
efforts to address its concerns over how in-app purchases are handled.
The
commission revealed that Google will be making "a number of changes,"
including removing the word "free" from games that use in-app purchases,
setting out guidelines discouraging developers from marketing directly
to children and changing its default settings so each in-app purchase
must be individually approved.
The changes will go into effect by the end of September.
EU
officials met with Apple and Google earlier this year to ask the two
companies to crack down on freemium apps. EU justice commissioner
Viviane Reding previously said the EU Commission had concerns over
whether freemium games were misleading to consumers and whether the
developers behind these games were targeting children in their use of
in-app purchases.
While
the commission praised Google for its efforts, Apple, however, seems to
have been less cooperative. The commission expressed regrets that the
Cupertino-based company had made "no firm commitment" to make similar
changes.
Both
Apple and Google have encountered legal trouble over their handling of
in-app purchases. Apple added in-app purchase warnings to iOS 7,
following a $32.5 million settlement with the FTC in which Apple agreed
to refund accidental in-app purchases made by children.
Google
was hit with a similar class-action lawsuit earlier this year from
parents of children who had made unauthorized purchases.
Posted by : Gizmeon
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