After 8-year-old racks up $1,400 bill on iPhone ‘Smurfs’ game, Klobuchar says more oversight is needed

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U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar sent a letter to Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz this week urging oversight of billing practices known as “in-app sales,” where companies offer free-to-download applications for smartphones and then charge users for other products and services once the application is launched – often without a clear warning of how much customers are being charged.

Recent media reports indicate many of these applications are games marketed to children, who may be unaware of these additional charges, including an instance reported by the Washington Post where an 8-year-old racked up a $1,400 bill playing the iPhone game “Smurfs’ Village.”

“Consumers have the right to know the true cost of the products and services they are downloading on their smartphones, especially when it comes to applications and games that are geared towards children,” Klobuchar wrote in the letter. “As with any new billing practice, there is always the potential for consumer confusion and bill shock, and ‘in-app sales’ are no exception.”

Klobuchar has worked to protect consumers from harmful billing practices such as “cramming,” which occurs when a third party adds unauthorized, misleading, or deceptive charges to consumers’ phone bills. Klobuchar is a member of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet.

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