A class-action suit has been leveled against Apple for allegedly not preventing children from unauthorized purchases on downloaded iPhone applications, and leaving their parents or guardians with the bills.
The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, seeks damages and lawyer's fees for an undisclosed number of plaintiffs, according to AppleInsider.
Apple had numerous complaints in the recent past about allowing in-app purchases through its App Store, mainly because the ones doing the buying were kids racking up hundreds of dollars of virtual goods. The in-app purchase allows users to buy while within the game, usually within the first 15 minutes of download, and without having to use a password. This led some little angels to purchase $99-a-piece barrels in Smurfs Village.
I guess that's why Apple began quizzing its engineers for a way to change the 15-minutes loophole in mid-March, but not before several parents and guardians had to pay hundreds of dollars, the complaint alleges.
As I said before, I sympathize with parents, but at the same time one has to be a parent. Parents can save themselves the stress of children making unauthorized purchases by closely monitoring their mobile phone use, limiting game time and only allowing adults to download applications.
