Apple agreed to similar restrictions, $32.5m in refunds earlier this year.

Amazon is fighting the US Federal Trade Commission's efforts to restrict in-app purchases on its phones and tablets, The Wall Street Journal reported today. The FTC argues that unauthorized in-app purchases made by children using Amazon's devices have affected "thousands" of parents, and the commission wants Amazon to agree to fines and more explicit restrictions on when and how in-app purchases can be made.

For its part, Amazon believes that its current protections are getting the job done, and Amazon Associate General Counsel Andrew DeVore said in a letter that Amazon would "defend [its] approach in court" rather than agree to the FTC's restrictions. DeVore also said that Amazon has refunded any unauthorized purchases when parents contacted the company to request one, and that the Amazon app store includes "prominent notice of in-app purchasing, effective parental controls, and real-time notice of every in-app purchase."
In response to a similar FTC complaint, Apple agreed earlier this year to pay out $32.5 million in refunds to parents whose children had made purchases without parental consent. The company is working to prevent unauthorized in-app purchases in iOS 8 by introducing "Family Sharing" accounts that will notify parents and ask them for permission when their kids try to buy things from the App Store or from within apps. Apple recently added a line of text to App Store listings that specifies whether an app supports in-app purchases in the first place.

wow parents must be more careful