SEATTLE (Legal Newsline) – The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that a federal judge granted its request for a summary judgment in the agency’s lawsuit against Amazon for allegations of billing consumers for unauthorized in-app charges incurred by children.
The judge decided that Amazon’s disclosures about the possibility of in-app purchases were not enough to warn consumers about charges in otherwise-free apps.
“We are pleased the federal judge found Amazon liable for unfairly billing consumers for unauthorized in-app purchases by children,” FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez said. “We look forward to making a case for full refunds to consumers as a result of Amazon’s actions.”
The court order mandates further representations from the FTC and Amazon on how much monetary relief Amazon will owe to consumers.
The FTC filed its case against Amazon in July 2014. In related settlements, Apple Inc. and Google Inc. reached deals that led to more than $50 million in refund payments.