Google Refunding Parents At Least $19 Million for Kids’ Unwanted Purchases

Google is the latest tech company to be dinged by federal regulators for making it too easy for kids to rack up unwanted in-app charges on their parents’ phones. The tech giant has agreed to a settlement of at least $19 million with the Federal Trade Commission to refund parents for their children’s unauthorized charges.

According to the FTC complaint, Google in 2011 did not require any password authorization to confirm in-app charges in its Google Play Store, then called the Android Market. The feature was added later, but inputting a password opened up a 30-minute window in which purchases could be made without a password confirmation. These issues led some parents to complain that their kids managed to rack up hundreds of dollars in charges buying virtual goods in games and other apps, according to the FTC. Seemingly harmless children’s mobile games can sometimes have individual items or features priced at as much as $200.

In addition to the refunds, Google will be required to get express consent from consumers when charging for in-app purchases in the future.

The Google settlement is the latest action in an ongoing campaign by the FTC to force tech companies to make their mobile payment systems more transparent. The Commission reached a $32.5 million settlement with Apple over the same issue in January, and is currently suing Amazon to seek similar refunds for customers whose kids placed unwanted charges.