Apple responds to EC complaints by touting iTunes' app controls as 'leading the industry,' cites iOS 8 "Ask To Buy" feature

In response to complaints published by European Commission regulators regarding In App Purchases, Apple has issued a statement outlining that it already does more than anyone else in the industry, and will be further enhancing its efforts to secure app purchases by children in iOS 8 this fall.

Apple's recently added in-app purchase labels on iOS (left) and iTunes on Mac.

"Apple takes great pride in leading the industry in parental controls that are incredibly easy to use and help ensure a great experience for parents and children on the App Store," the company noted in response to the complaints of European regulators.

"The parental controls in iOS are strong, intuitive and customizable. And over the last year we made sure any app which enables customers to make in-app purchases is clearly marked. We've also created a Kids Section on the App Store with even stronger protections to cover apps designed for children younger than 13.

"These controls go far beyond the features of others in the industry. But we are always working to strengthen the protections we have in place, and we're adding great new features with iOS 8, such as Ask to Buy, giving parents even more control over what their kids can buy on the App Store.

"Our goal is to continue to provide the best experience for our customers and we will continue to work with the EC member states to respond to their concerns."

Apple's new "Ask to Buy" feature in the upcoming iOS 8 is part of a series of features branded as Family Sharing and featured in a special section of the company's iOS 8 preview.

Apple notes that after parents enable 'Ask to Buy,' iTunes will "require children to get permission before making iTunes, iBooks, and App Store purchases. You can even create Apple IDs for children under 13 years old so they can participate, too."

The new Family Sharing features in iOS 8 are slated to allow families to link their Apple ID accounts so that members can share the same content purchases, contribute photos to shared albums, share calendars, and locate family members and their iOS devices on the map.

iOS 8 is expected to ship this fall.

Follow AppleInsider on Google News

22 Comments

tallest skil

said about 9 years ago

Dear European Commission,

fsck you.

Strong letter to follow,

Apple

blazar

said about 9 years ago

The phone is now a buying device just like a credit card. Duh. Don't give it to your kids...

onhka

said about 9 years ago

I believe that Apple is doing the right thing, especially with the release of 8.

The problem I see here is that, except for announcing their intentions to this manner, they haven't formally informed the EU or for that matter anyone else. And as anyone who has followed Apple, and in particular when Steve was around, it was always Apple's strategy to keep things secret until they had something tangible to offer. Which by the way, I applaud whole heartedly.

Perusing some of the media reporting, it is interesting the commonality being reported to Apple's response. Virtually every news source prefaced Apple's boilerplate response, "Apple takes great pride in leading the industry in parental controls that are incredibly easy to use and help ensure a great experience for parents and children on the App Store…" with for example,

El Reg: "A spokesman for Apple told El Reg, there is no probs…"Apple takes great pride…""
Engadget: "Apple provided the following statement to Engadget…Apple takes great pride…"
Tech Times: "In response to the EU criticism, Apple said in a published statement that it clearly labels games that require in-app purchasing…Apple takes great pride…"
The Enquirer: "Apple responded, and said it does more than anybody else in the industry with regards to in-app purchases. A spokesperson said,…Apple takes great pride…"
MacObserver: "Apple, however, has not announced any changes to its App Store in EU member countries. Instead, the company issued a statement to Engadget today saying, "Apple takes great pride…"

Not that I have positive proof, but there is some evidence again, that Apple hasn't as yet formally informed the EU as Engadget earlier reported, "Apple’s plan appears to be to discuss its plans and policies around in-app purchases with individual EU member states on a case-by-case basis, which makes sense given the European Commission says that any further enforcement around IAP is now up to individual nations to decide."

Update: Engadget just revised their page to read in part:

Quote:

"Meanwhile, the EU said that Apple has "regrettably" not provided any firm solutions or timetable to address its concerns, though it added that Cupertino has promised to attack the problem. Apple was already forced to implement alerts in iOS 7.1 warning users of in-app buys, following lawsuits and a scuffle with the FCC. It has also implemented other parental controls, as shown in its Parents' Guide to iTunes. Meanwhile, the European Commission said that enforcement is now in the hands of individual EU nations, which will need to decide on their own how to punish developers currently facing legal action.

Update: In response to the EU's remarks, Apple has given us the following statement: "Apple takes great pride in leading the industry…"

To now, Apple has not released the above mentioned statement on their site or via a press release.

Incidentally, I'll wager there are few even here who are apprised how much Apple has already implemented means to restrict usage or purchasing iOS apps.

gunner1954

said about 9 years ago

When will the bureaucrats learn that writing code to protect the irresponsible from themselves is not as easy as picking their own noses? It takes time and a huge collective effort to do it right, do it well, and make it easy for the responsible parents while not allowing some six year old to hack the system to circumvent the controls. Like blazar said, if you can't be responsible for your own finances, don't give your kid a credit card enabled phone. Then again, in a nanny state, what parent needs to be responsible? The sooner the bureaucrats pull their collective heads out of their collective backsides they will actually see and smell more than the massive mound of manure they keep trying to feed us. They could at least wipe the crud out of there eyes and read the massive amount of text that has been written about iOS 8 and all the great features to come. Perhaps I'm asking too much of them. Bureaucrats are known for not doing their research. They prefer a knee-jerk reaction (emphasis on jerk) to a minor problem just for the headlines than to fix the major problems that most of their 'edicts' create.

silver shadow

said about 9 years ago

I'm qurious if they offered their take on a solution. Just about everyone can armchair problems all day. So is it each EU member has different solutions in mind, or are they all stating they don't like the current control system and are expecting different solutions? Expecting different solutions without offering even a vague example? Seems like every year Apple makes the system more robust, and each year the EU says "that's not it!" It may be that I'm shortsighted but having a big notification showing up on the account holders phone asking permission if their child can buy an app or IAP can't be much more straight forward. Maybe make the phone ring, light up and vibrate also? This whole irresponsibility for IAP's is just plain going way too far.