Apple to settle lawsuit on inadvertent app purchases by kids

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Apple Inc has agreed to settle a class action lawsuit that said customers were charged when their children inadvertently downloaded certain applications from the company's online store, a court filing showed.

Under the proposed settlement, Apple could potentially end up paying around $100 million as it has agreed to provide a $5 iTunes store credit to as many as 23 million affected customers, the court filing said. The final settlement figure may vary.

Also, those claiming $30 or more from Apple may choose to receive a cash refund instead of an iTunes store credit, according to the filing.

The lawsuit, filed by five parents in 2011, involved allegations surrounding purchases in certain downloaded apps, which plaintiffs claim were made by children without the knowledge or permission of the account holder.

The lawsuit also alleged that "Apple failed to adequately disclose that third-party Game Apps, largely available for free and rated as containing content suitable for children, contained the ability to make In-App Purchases."

The proposed settlement requires court approval. The court will hear the settlement on March 1.

Apple could not immediately be reached for comment by Reuters outside of regular U.S. business hours.

The case is in re: Apple In-App purchase litigation, Case No. 11-01758, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California.

Report by : Reuters

UK kids accessing porn through mobiles

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More than two-fifths of parents in the UK are concerned about their children accessing pornographic content online through their mobile phones, a new research has found.

LONDON: More than two-fifths of parents in the UK are concerned about their children accessing pornographic content online through their mobile phones, a new research has found.

According to a survey by ICM, 42 per cent of parents claimed that they were concerned about their children's access to explicit material online, while one in eight said they felt they had no control over what their child accesses on the Internet through their phone.

The survey results showed that while more than half of all children get their first mobile phone before the age of 11, almost one-third of parents who were interviewed, were unaware of 'online safety tools' that can prevent their children from accessing inappropriate content, such as pornography, gambling or other adult material, the Telegraph reports.

Almost 95 per cent of children own a phone by 11-13 years of age, while the figure among 14-16 year-olds rises to 98 per cent, the survey found.

Though mobile networks do automatically block access to adult content via their own networks, the Wi-Fi capabilities on modern smartphones mean that children often do have access to inappropriate material, the paper said.

The research comes just weeks after a senior board member of the UK Council for Child internet Safety warned that social networks "cannot be trusted to protect children online".

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Report by: ANI