Misleading in-game app fees to face potential legal action

A new guideline by a UK Watchdog has been proposed for developers to make sure that games aren’t misleading users about in-app charges.

The Office of Fair Trading has expressed concerns that in-game charges within some apps use potentially aggressive commercial practices that breach consumer protection laws.

A group particularly at risk according to the UK Watchdog is young children who could feel forced or mislead into spending money they don’t need to.

What will these proposed guidelines include?

Games will be expected to provide full details of potential costs before the app is downloaded, and for it to be obvious in the game whether it is essential for payments to be made. This is because some games imply that it is necessary for a player to make a purchase to move on to the next level or to load.

Language is also to be used in a transparent way, without any implication that characters would be upset or that levels wouldn’t be reached without payment. This additionally includes the complaint process, and for it to be made clearer how to contact help.

Games are lastly to ask for full consent before each and every purchase as a preventative measure for young children.

Children are most at risk because according to OFT’s research, they don’t have a full understanding of virtual money, and how it equates to real cash. It cited some of the worst examples to be when games asked players to make a purchase because a character would otherwise become ill.

Some of the most popular games that could incur in-game costs are Disney’s ‘Where’s My Water’, King’s ‘Candy Crush Saga’, EA’s ‘Fifa 14’ and Sega’s ‘Sonic Dash’, which were pioneered in Asian markets to primarily combat piracy.

The main problem with these so-called ‘freemium’ games is the lack of overall transparency concerning its in-game costs, meaning parents and children aren’t aware of the financial implications.

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