European Commission Investigating In-App Purchases

Reuters have revealed that The European Commission are inviting Apple and Google to talk with consumer protection agencies about how expensive In-App purchases can be.

After concerns were raised by consumer groups in Denmark, Britain, Italy and Belgium, the Commission will hold talks with the industry, policymakers and consumer protection authorities on Thursday and Friday to consider clearer guidelines.

They also bring up the main point which put people off playing the mixed-reviewed mobile Dungeon Keeper title:

The main concern is that games are often labeled as "free to download" but are not "free to play", with purchases automatically debited from a registered credit card. More than half of online games in the EU are advertised as "free", the Commission says, despite many carrying hidden costs.

It is clear that the Commission wants some clear plans put in place to avoid another figure like the estimated €16.5 billion Europeans spent on online games in 2011.

The talks will include representatives from Britain, Denmark, France, Lithuania, Italy, Belgium and Luxembourg.

Among the proposals to be discussed are clearer explanations in games about the costs involved, removing inducements to make purchases such as "Buy now!" and "Upgrade now!" and preventing payments being debited without explicit consent.