14 DAY TRIAL // Starting with this fall, Android games that sport in-app purchase capabilities will no longer be called free in the Google Play Store, it appears.
This is the result of a new ruling that the European Commission has issued regarding in-app purchases in mobile games (and online games, for that matter) and is meant to better protect customers from spending money on content that is otherwise marketed as free.
The European Commission has informed industry players, including Google, that games that are advertised as free should not mislead users when it comes to the costs they involve.
Moreover, the ruling states that “games should not contain direct exhortation to children to buy items in a game or to persuade an adult to buy items for them” and that customers should be informed on the payment arrangements for purchases that such games include.
Apparently, Google has already announced the Commission that it plans on complying to these new rules starting with this fall and that it is currently making steps towards ensuring that this happens.
The company has agreed to a series of changes to be performed in its mobile app store, where games will no longer be called free when they sport in-app purchases (apparently, the word free will not be used at all in relation to such titles).
Additionally, the company has agreed to come up with targeted guidelines for its app developers, so as to ensure that there will be no direct exhortation to children, as the EU law defines it.
On top of that, it will implement time-framed measures to monitor apparent breaches of EU consumer laws and also adapted default settings to have payments authorized before an in-app purchase is made. However, consumers will be able to actively choose to modify these settings.
Apparently, Google is determined to complete the implementation of these changes by the end of September this year.
“This is the very first enforcement action of its kind in which the European Commission and national authorities joined forces. I am happy to see that it is delivering tangible results,” EU Commissioner for Consumer Policy Neven Mimica said.
“This is significant for consumers. In particular, children must be better protected when playing online. The action also provides invaluable experience for the ongoing reflection on how to most effectively organize the enforcement of consumer rights in the Union. It has demonstrated that cooperation pays off and helps to improve the protection of consumers in all Member States.”