app_store_icon_ios_7 The Wall Street Journal reports that Italy's Antitrust and Competition Authority has launched an investigation to determine whether internet companies such as Apple, Google, and Amazon mislead people by offering in-app purchases for titles that are listed as free downloads.

Consumers could be led to think, contrary to reality, that a game is completely free and therefore they don't know ahead of time the game's true cost," the regulator said in a statement. "It appears also that there is a lack of information regarding how to exclude or limit the possibility of making a purchase inside the app.

The news comes as Apple has been the target of multiple complaints from consumers and regulatory agencies over in-app purchases in recent years. After multiple parental complaints were filed with the FTC in 2011, Apple came to a settlement in January which saw the company provide $32 million in refunds to parents whose children purchased unauthorized in-app items.

Apple has also implemented a number of changes to its in-app purchase policies, including requiring a separate passcode entry for initiating in-app purchases, providing multiple notifications before a purchase is made, and obtaining express consent from consumers before billing them for an in-app purchase. The company has also displayed "Offers In-App Purchases" disclosure on individual app detail pages and inserted small "In-App Purchases" notifications for apps in Top Charts listings and elsewhere.

If found at fault, Apple could receive a maximum fine of €5 million, or approximately $6.8 million. Italian regulators previously fined Apple $1.2 million in late 2011 and another $260,000 in late 2012 over AppleCare practices, stating that the company was not providing customers with sufficient information about the two years of the free product warranty required under Italian law. As a result of this, Apple added an online statement on warranty disclosures to its customers in Italy.

Top Rated Comments

n-evo Avatar
146 months ago
It's not personal. The EU just isn't a good place to innovate or do business, period. There is a reason why there is no European equivalent of Apple, MS, Google, Facebook, Tesla, SpaceX, etc. and never will be.
Shell, BP, Total, Volkswagen, Nestlé, IKEA among many others are doing fine.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Xenc Avatar
146 months ago
I'm sure there's a dry riverbed somewhere, perhaps Italy could use their tears to fill it?

Like a lot of what the EU does with new technologies, the Italian government is attempting to make pricing clearer and ultimately protect us, the consumer. That can only be good in the long run!
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
justperry Avatar
146 months ago
It's not personal. The EU just isn't a good place to innovate or do business, period. There is a reason why there is no European equivalent of Apple, MS, Google, Facebook, Tesla, SpaceX, etc. and never will be.
Shell, BP, Total, Volkswagen, Nestlé, IKEA among many others are doing fine.
Don't forget Arm, ASML, Philips, Ferrari-Maserati-Austin Martin-Porsche-etc., Unilever...
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Klae17 Avatar
146 months ago
I do not make use of any apps that require continuous payment however as part of my work I have made myself aware if their existence and while I understand that this is what some people freely choose to do, to me it is a blight that taints the app industry with a greed that targets the weakness and lack of knowledge of younger persons. Not unlike the porno industry free websites.

I understand that Apple is now owned by investors and has sold its soul and its sole voice of reason SJ is brown bread. So nothing is going to change but it must be said that the path Apple has embarked upon with an ever growing portfolio of gadgets, consumer nick nacks, and other purely moneymaking ventures with zero redeeming value to humanity is going to gradually tarnish the truely marvelous improvements to the quality of life thus far attained.

Tim Cook really does need to take stock of Apple and ask himself the question in his heart of hearts "what direction would Steve wish to steer the company". Of course this will not and probably cannot happen.

1. Steve did tell Tim how to steer it years before he died.

2. Steve is no longer alive.

3. Steve started the portfolio of gadgets, consumer nick nacks, and other purely moneymaking ventures with zero redeeming value to humanity.

4. Tim has done a lot for humanity and charity while Steve refused to.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Analog Kid Avatar
146 months ago
Tim Cook really does need to take stock of Apple and ask himself the question in his heart of hearts "what direction would Steve wish to steer the company". Of course this will not and probably cannot happen.

No he shouldn't. It's a company, not a religion. Tim Cook should make decisions based on his own wisdom, much of which is based on his experience having worked with Jobs and seeing what made Apple successful, not based on speculation about what someone else would have done. If enough people think he didn't learn the right lessons, he should be replaced.

There's also a suggestion in your comment that you have a better understanding of Jobs from watching a few keynotes and maybe reading a book, than Cook does after working side by side with Jobs for more than a decade. By all accounts, Jobs left Cook in charge-- which should tell you the direction in which he wished to steer the company.

----------

Being illegal doesn't require it to be "harmful" or anything like that, just that there is a law, and what apple and others are doing is not in line with that.
My first statement is that I don't get the sense there's a law that's being broken, and after that I was expressing my opinion that there shouldn't be a law written.

As I said before, I haven't studied this case deeper than the article, so maybe there's a "can't get people to download something for free and then ask them to pay a little bit more" law in Italy, but as it's written it looks like they're implying something close to what I'd understand as "fraud"-- and I don't agree.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rmatthewware Avatar
146 months ago
I'm sure there's a dry riverbed somewhere, perhaps Italy could use their tears to fill it?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iphone 16 pro ghost hand

5 Reasons to Skip This Year's iPhone 17 Pro

Thursday July 10, 2025 4:54 am PDT by
Apple will launch its new iPhone 17 series in two months, and the iPhone 17 Pro models are expected to get a new design for the rear casing and the camera area. But more significant changes to the lineup are not expected until next year, when the iPhone 18 models arrive. If you're thinking of trading in your iPhone for this year's latest, consider the following features rumored to be coming...
apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro

Apple Says iPhone Driver's Licenses Will Expand to These 8 U.S. States

Tuesday July 8, 2025 11:26 am PDT by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Unfortunately, this feature continues to roll out very slowly since it was announced in 2021, with only nine U.S. states, Puerto Rico,...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro to Reverse iPhone X Design Decision

Monday July 7, 2025 9:46 am PDT by
Since the iPhone X in 2017, all of Apple's highest-end iPhone models have featured either stainless steel or titanium frames, but it has now been rumored that this design decision will be coming to an end with the iPhone 17 Pro models later this year. In a post on Chinese social media platform Weibo today, the account Instant Digital said that the iPhone 17 Pro models will have an aluminum...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

Leaker Reveals Amount of RAM in iPhone 17 Through iPhone 17 Pro Max

Wednesday July 9, 2025 8:08 am PDT by
Three out of four iPhone 17 models will feature more RAM than the equivalent iPhone 16 models, according to a new leak that aligns with previous rumors. The all-new iPhone 17 Air, the iPhone 17 Pro, and the iPhone 17 Pro Max will each be equipped with 12GB of RAM, according to Fixed Focus Digital, an account with more than two million followers on Chinese social media platform Weibo. The...
apple account card feature

Apple Account Card Expanding to More Countries

Tuesday July 8, 2025 7:34 pm PDT by
Apple is expanding the ability to add an Apple Account Card to the Wallet app to more countries, according to backend Apple Pay changes. With iOS 15.5, Apple updated the Wallet app to allow users to add an Apple Account Card, which displays the Apple credit balance associated with an Apple ID. If you receive an Apple gift card, for example, it is added to an Apple Account that is also...
macbook pro blue green

M5 MacBook Pro No Longer Coming in 2025

Thursday July 10, 2025 12:38 pm PDT by
Apple does not plan to refresh any Macs with updated M5 chips in 2025, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Updated MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models are now planned for the first half of 2026. Gurman previously said that Apple would debut the M5 MacBook Pro models in late 2025, but his newest report suggests that Apple is "considering" pushing them back to 2026. Apple is now said to be...
iOS 26 Feature

Everything New in iOS 26 Beta 3

Monday July 7, 2025 1:20 pm PDT by
Apple is continuing to refine and update iOS 26, and beta three features smaller changes than we saw in beta 2, plus further tweaks to the Liquid Glass design. Apple is gearing up for the next phase of beta testing, and the company has promised that a public beta is set to come out in July. Transparency In some apps like Apple Music, Podcasts, and the App Store, Apple has toned down the...
iCloud General Feature Redux

iPhone Users Who Pay for iCloud Storage Receive These Five Perks

Wednesday July 9, 2025 9:20 am PDT by
If you pay for iCloud storage on your iPhone, did you know that Apple offers you five perks beyond the extra storage space, at no additional cost? Here are the perks included with all iCloud+ plans:Private Relay keeps your Safari browsing history entirely private from network providers, websites, and even Apple. Hide My Email generates unique, random email addresses whenever needed. Hom...