#73: On Amazon's Design, Gov't Knows Best

You may have seen this story in the news: a child runs up thousands of dollars worth of purchases on her parent’s Apple, Google, or Amazon app store account. In pretty much every case, the companies have been happy to refund the purchases when asked, as parents were clearly unaware of what their children were buying. Nonetheless, the FTC has taken enforcement action against all three companies. While Google and Apple settled, Amazon fought back. Late last month, a federal district court granted the FTC’s motion for summary judgment against Amazon over charges for unauthorized in-app purchases. Evan and Berin discuss the case and its implications. Should the government be involved in product design and user experience? For more, see Geoff Manne’s post in Truth on the Market.