Parents sue Apple over children's costly and highly addictive apps: Some are aimed at children as yo

[Jazzy]

Parents whose children have accidentally run up huge bills playing games on their iPhones could be in line for compensation from Apple.



Campaigners are awaiting the result of a U.S. court case in which a group of disgruntled parents are suing the company after their children’s innocent game playing ended up costing a fortune.



They accuse Apple of enticing children to spend money on iTunes

If the parents are successful, it could open the door for legal actions worldwide.



Apple, which is worth more than £311billion, has repeatedly been criticised for allowing children to spend hundreds of pounds on games using their parents’ iPhones.



Apps such as Smurfs’ Village, based on the popular books and film, have repeatedly caught out parents. Although some apps are free to download, playing them can incur charges. As the child collects ‘game currency’, the bills can mount up.



The U.S. court papers state: ‘These games are highly addictive, designed deliberately to be so, and tend to compel children playing them to purchase large quantities of game currency, amounting to as much as $100 (£62) per purchase or more.’



Youngsters don’t need to supply credit card details, as the costs are usually charged to the parents’ iTunes accounts which are already linked to card details. It could take up to 24 hours for parents to find out about the huge bills.



Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencet...tly-highly-addictive-games.html#ixzz1ssI5gTLZ



I would think it's the parents fault for allowing children access to their iTunes account. If the parents are stupid enough to allow access then they are the ones responsible for the charges.



What are your thoughts on this?

 

[Sinon]

It's the fault of the parents. If they weren't stupid enough to let their kids do this, then the apps wouldn't exist. Besides which, the majority of games which involve microtransactions state in their terms of service PLEASE GET BILLPAYERS PERMISSION FIRST If your kid doesn't do that, it's not the game developer who is at fault. It's your kid for being a liar.

 

[alan@stgiles]

I agree with what has been said by Jazzy & Shiro

 

[Katatonia]

Lawsuits are such a joke.



Spill a cup of coffee; make a million dollars! ~ Toby Keith

 

[Evil Eye]

Wow. Some people really are that stupid. You're letting your kids play that and have the nerve to complain?

 

[Bluezone777]

I swear that a blind man would have better luck finding waldo in a where's waldo book before a man of perfect vision can find someone who is accountable for their own actions. We are teaching the children of today that there is no need to be responsible for their own actions and I do not wish to imagine what that world would be like.



One can't evade responsibility only transfer it to someone else. What happens when there is no one left to be accountable for anything?