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Comment by asimov42 | Hacker News Reader

So what about all the other gaming apps on the iOS store? Literally thousands of them are specifically designed to get (trick) kids to spend money on them. Apple is more than happy to enable In-App purchases for them and then promotes them heavily through its own advertising on the app store. How is Apple not part of the problem in this whole system?

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Apple and Facebook have both been sued for this. Facebook were literally calling it friendly fraud and trying not to prevent it.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2019/01/25/facebook-tu...

The FTC alleges Apple allowed the same thing on their platform for three years after they became aware.

https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/16/technology/government-and...

But what's really amazing is Google, Amazon and Microsoft have all been sued for the same thing too and it still not illegal to have games where kids can spend unlimited amounts and conduct unlimited transactions using obfuscated virtual currencies.

Apple has parental controls to prevent this, and basically forces you through configuring them when you set up an iDevice account for a minor.

I have three kids and have never had an in-app or other purchase that I didn’t approve.

It’s got to start somewhere. Punch the biggest bullies in the yard down and everyone of their comrades will get the point and generally fall in line. Or you’ve got smaller fries to then make examples of on your own time. If you start at the bottom and work your way up the bigger players will just benefit from lack of competition and not see a need for change. The whataboutism is really an argument against change at all than it is a question of tactics.

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