Google Inc.; Analysis to Aid Public Comment, 54278-54280 [2014-21621]

Download as PDF mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES 54278 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 176 / Thursday, September 11, 2014 / Notices costs to draft a disclosure document consistent with Appendix A to the Rule. There are 485 words in Appendix A to the Rule. Therefore, the total cost burden to translate the disclosure document for the 9 new business opportunity sellers marketing in a language other than English or Spanish will be approximately $764 [9 sellers × (17.5 cents 3 per word × 485 words)]. For purposes of this PRA analysis, staff assumes that both new and existing business opportunity sellers marketing business opportunities in languages other than English [260 sellers]: (1) are marketing in both English and another language; (2) are not incorporating any existing materials into their disclosure document; (3) have been the subject of civil or criminal legal actions; (4) are making earnings claims; (5) have a refund or cancellation policy; and (6) because of all of the above assumptions, require approximately 250 words (approximately one standard, doublespaced page) to translate their updates, in the case of existing business opportunity sellers, or supply and translate their initial disclosures, in the case of new business opportunity sellers. Therefore, the total cost to translate the updates or to translate from English the initial disclosures is approximately $11,375 [260 sellers × (17.5 cents per word × 250 words)]. Thus, cumulative estimated non-labor costs are $3,062,139 ($3,050,000 + $764 + $11,375). Request for Comment: You can file a comment online or on paper. For the FTC to consider your comment, we must receive it on or before November 10, 2014. Write ‘‘Business Opportunity Rule Paperwork Comment, FTC File No. P114408’’ on your comment. Your comment— including your name and your state— will be placed on the public record of this proceeding, including, to the extent practicable, on the public Commission Web site, at https://www.ftc.gov/os/ publiccomments.shtm. As a matter of discretion, the Commission tries to remove individuals’ home contact information from comments before placing them on the Commission Web site. Because your comment will be made public, you are solely responsible for making sure that your comment does not include any sensitive personal information, like anyone’s Social Security number, date of birth, driver’s license number or other state identification number or foreign country 3 Staff estimates that it will cost approximately 17.5 cents to translate each word into the language the sellers use to market the opportunities. VerDate Mar<15>2010 18:29 Sep 10, 2014 Jkt 232001 equivalent, passport number, financial account number, or credit or debit card number. You are also solely responsible for making sure that your comment does not include any sensitive health information, like medical records or other individually identifiable health information. In addition, do not include any ‘‘[t]rade secret or any commercial or financial information which is obtained from any person and which is privileged or confidential . . . ’’ as provided in Section 6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 4.10(a)(2). If you want the Commission to give your comment confidential treatment, you must file it in paper form, with a request for confidential treatment, and you have to follow the procedure explained in FTC Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c).4 Your comment will be kept confidential only if the FTC General Counsel grants your request in accordance with the law and the public interest. Postal mail addressed to the Commission is subject to delay due to heightened security screening. As a result, we encourage you to submit your comments online, or to send them to the Commission by courier or overnight service. To make sure that the Commission considers your online comment, you must file it at https:// ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/ BusinessOptionRulePRA by following the instructions on the web-based form. If this Notice appears at https:// www.regulations.gov/#!home, you also may file a comment through that Web site. If you file your comment on paper, write ‘‘Business Opportunity Rule Paperwork Comment, FTC File No. P114408’’ on your comment and on the envelope, and mail or deliver it to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite CC–5610 (Annex J), Washington, DC 20580, or deliver your comment to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Constitution Center, 400 7th Street SW., 5th Floor, Suite 5610 (Annex J), Washington, DC 20024. If possible, submit your paper comment to the Commission by courier or overnight service. The FTC Act and other laws that the Commission administers permit the collection of public comments to consider and use in this proceeding as 4 In particular, the written request for confidential treatment that accompanies the comment must include the factual and legal basis for the request, and must identify the specific portions of the comment to be withheld from the public record. See FTC Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c). PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 appropriate. The Commission will consider all timely and responsive public comments that it receives on or before November 10, 2014. You can find more information, including routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, in the Commission’s privacy policy, at https://www.ftc.gov/ftc/privacy.htm. David C. Shonka, Principal Deputy General Counsel. [FR Doc. 2014–21685 Filed 9–10–14; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6750–01–P FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION [File No. 122 3237] Google Inc.; Analysis to Aid Public Comment Federal Trade Commission. Proposed Consent Agreement. AGENCY: ACTION: The consent agreement in this matter settles alleged violations of federal law prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts or practices. The attached Analysis to Aid Public Comment describes both the allegations in the draft complaint and the terms of the consent order—embodied in the consent agreement—that would settle these allegations. SUMMARY: Comments must be received on or before October 6, 2014. ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a comment at https:// ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/ googleplayconsent online or on paper, by following the instructions in the Request for Comment part of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Write ‘‘Google Inc.—Consent Agreement; File No. 122 3237’’ on your comment and file your comment online at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ ftc/googleplayconsent by following the instructions on the web-based form. If you prefer to file your comment on paper, mail your comment to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Suite CC–5610 (Annex D), Washington, DC 20580, or deliver your comment to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Constitution Center, 400 7th Street SW., 5th Floor, Suite 5610 (Annex D), Washington, DC 20024. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Duane Pozza, Bureau of Consumer Protection, (202–326–2042), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20580. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to Section 6(f) of the Federal Trade DATES: E:\FR\FM\11SEN1.SGM 11SEN1 mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 176 / Thursday, September 11, 2014 / Notices Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 2.34, 16 CFR 2.34, notice is hereby given that the above-captioned consent agreement containing consent order to cease and desist, having been filed with and accepted, subject to final approval, by the Commission, has been placed on the public record for a period of thirty (30) days. The following Analysis to Aid Public Comment describes the terms of the consent agreement, and the allegations in the complaint. An electronic copy of the full text of the consent agreement package can be obtained from the FTC Home Page (for September 4, 2014), on the World Wide Web, at https:// www.ftc.gov/os/actions.shtm. You can file a comment online or on paper. For the Commission to consider your comment, we must receive it on or before October 6, 2014. Write ‘‘Google Inc.—Consent Agreement; File No. 122 3237’’ on your comment. Your comment—including your name and your state—will be placed on the public record of this proceeding, including, to the extent practicable, on the public Commission Web site, at https:// www.ftc.gov/os/publiccomments.shtm. As a matter of discretion, the Commission tries to remove individuals’ home contact information from comments before placing them on the Commission Web site. Because your comment will be made public, you are solely responsible for making sure that your comment does not include any sensitive personal information, like anyone’s Social Security number, date of birth, driver’s license number or other state identification number or foreign country equivalent, passport number, financial account number, or credit or debit card number. You are also solely responsible for making sure that your comment does not include any sensitive health information, like medical records or other individually identifiable health information. In addition, do not include any ‘‘[t]rade secret or any commercial or financial information which . . . is privileged or confidential,’’ as discussed in Section 6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 4.10(a)(2). In particular, do not include competitively sensitive information such as costs, sales statistics, inventories, formulas, patterns, devices, manufacturing processes, or customer names. If you want the Commission to give your comment confidential treatment, you must file it in paper form, with a request for confidential treatment, and you have to follow the procedure explained in FTC Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR VerDate Mar<15>2010 18:29 Sep 10, 2014 Jkt 232001 4.9(c).1 Your comment will be kept confidential only if the FTC General Counsel, in his or her sole discretion, grants your request in accordance with the law and the public interest. Postal mail addressed to the Commission is subject to delay due to heightened security screening. As a result, we encourage you to submit your comments online. To make sure that the Commission considers your online comment, you must file it at https:// ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/ googleplayconsent by following the instructions on the web-based form. If this Notice appears at https:// www.regulations.gov/#!home, you also may file a comment through that Web site. If you file your comment on paper, write ‘‘Google Inc.—Consent Agreement; File No. 122 3237’’ on your comment and on the envelope, and mail your comment to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Suite CC–5610 (Annex D), Washington, DC 20580, or deliver your comment to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Constitution Center, 400 7th Street SW., 5th Floor, Suite 5610 (Annex D), Washington, DC 20024. If possible, submit your paper comment to the Commission by courier or overnight service. Visit the Commission Web site at https://www.ftc.gov to read this Notice and the news release describing it. The FTC Act and other laws that the Commission administers permit the collection of public comments to consider and use in this proceeding as appropriate. The Commission will consider all timely and responsive public comments that it receives on or before October 6, 2014. You can find more information, including routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, in the Commission’s privacy policy, at https://www.ftc.gov/ftc/privacy.htm. Analysis of Proposed Consent Order to Aid Public Comment The Federal Trade Commission (‘‘Commission’’) has accepted, subject to final approval, an agreement containing a consent order from Google Inc. (‘‘Google’’). The proposed consent order has been placed on the public record for 30 days for receipt of comments by interested persons. Comments received during this 1 In particular, the written request for confidential treatment that accompanies the comment must include the factual and legal basis for the request, and must identify the specific portions of the comment to be withheld from the public record. See FTC Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c). PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 54279 period will become part of the public record. After 30 days, the Commission will again review the agreement and the comments received, and will decide whether it should withdraw from the agreement and take appropriate action or make final the agreement’s proposed order. Google bills consumers for charges related to activity within software applications (‘‘apps’’) that consumers download to their mobile devices from Google’s Google Play store. This matter concerns Google’s billing for charges incurred by children in apps that are likely to be used by children without having obtained the account holders’ express informed consent. The Commission’s proposed complaint alleges that Google offers thousands of apps, including games that children are likely to play, and that in many instances, children can obtain virtual items within a game app that cost money. Google bills parents and other adult account holders for items that cost money within an app—‘‘in-app charges.’’ In connection with billing for children’s in-app charges, Google in many instances did not request a password or other method to obtain account holder authorization. Currently, in connection with billing for children’s in-app charges, Google only sometimes requests a parent’s Google password. In many instances, once the password is entered, Google begins a thirty-minute window during which purchases can be made by children without further action by the account holder. During this process, Google in many instances has not informed account holders that password entry will approve a charge or initiate a thirty-minute window during which children using the app can incur charges without further action by the account holder. The Commission’s proposed complaint alleges that, through these practices, Google often has failed to obtain parents’ informed consent to charges incurred by children, which constitutes an unfair practice under Section 5 of the FTC Act. The proposed order contains provisions designed to prevent Google from engaging in the same or similar acts or practices in the future. Part I of the proposed order requires Google to obtain express, informed consent to inapp charges before billing for such charges, and to allow consumers to revoke consent to prospective in-app charges at any time. As defined in the proposed order, express, informed consent requires an affirmative act communicating authorization of an inapp charge (such as entering a password), made proximate to both an in-app activity for which Google is E:\FR\FM\11SEN1.SGM 11SEN1 mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES 54280 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 176 / Thursday, September 11, 2014 / Notices billing a charge and a clear and conspicuous disclosure of material information about the charge. Under the definition, the act and disclosure must be reasonably calculated to ensure that the person providing consent is the account holder (as opposed to the child). The proposed order would require the disclosure to appear at least once per mobile device. Part II of the proposed order requires Google to provide full refunds to Google account holders who have been billed by Google for unauthorized in-app charges incurred by minors, for a year following entry of the order. If Google’s refunds total less than $19 million, Google will remit any remaining balance to the Commission to be used for informational remedies, further redress, or payment to the U.S. Treasury as equitable disgorgement. To effectuate refunds, Google must send an electronic notice to its consumers that clearly and conspicuously discloses the availability of refunds and instructions on how to obtain such refunds. Within 30 days of the end of the one-year redress period, Google must provide the Commission with records of refund requests, refunds paid, and any refunds denied. Parts III through VII of the proposed order are reporting and compliance provisions. Part III of the proposed order requires Google to maintain and upon request make available certain compliance-related records, including certain consumer complaints and refund requests, for a period of five years. Part IV is an order distribution provision that requires Google to provide the order to current and future principals, officers, and corporate directors, as well as current and future managers, employees, agents, and representatives who participate in certain duties related to the subject matter of the proposed complaint and order. Part V requires Google to notify the Commission of corporate changes that may affect compliance obligations within 14 days of such a change. Part VI requires Google to submit a compliance report 90 days after entry of the order. It also requires Google to submit additional compliance reports within 10 business days of a written request by the Commission. Part VII is a provision ‘‘sunsetting’’ the order after 20 years, with certain exceptions. The purpose of this analysis is to aid public comment on the proposed order. It is not intended to constitute an official interpretation of the complaint or proposed order, or to modify in any way the proposed order’s terms. VerDate Mar<15>2010 18:29 Sep 10, 2014 Jkt 232001 By direction of the Commission, Commissioner Wright recused. Donald S. Clark, Secretary. [FR Doc. 2014–21621 Filed 9–10–14; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6750–01–P DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Office of the Secretary Findings of Research Misconduct; Correction AGENCY: ACTION: Office of the Secretary, HHS Correction of notice. This document corrects errors that appeared in the notice published in the July 30, 2014, Federal Register entitled ‘‘Findings of Research Misconduct.’’ SUMMARY: DATES: Effective Date: September 11, 2014. Applicability Date: The correction notice is applicable for the Findings of Research Misconduct notice published on July 30, 2014. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karen Gorirossi at 240–453–8800. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Background In FR Doc. 2014–17889 of July 30, 2014 (79 FR 44171–44172), there is an error in the grant information. The error is identified and corrected in the Correction of Errors section below. II. Correction of Errors In FR Doc. 2014–17889 of July 30, 2014 (79 FR 44171–44172), make the following corrections: 1. On page 44171, third column, second paragraph, change ‘‘National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), National Institutes of Health (NIH), grants R01 DC001622 and R01 DC004842’’ in the last five lines of the paragraph to read ‘‘National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), National Institutes of Health (NIH), grants R01 DC001662 and R01 DC004842.’’ Dated: August 26, 2014. Donald Wright, Acting Director, Office of Research Integrity. [FR Doc. 2014–21284 Filed 9–10–14; 8:45 am] DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Cancer Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting Pursuant to section 10(d) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. App.), notice is hereby given of the following meeting. The meeting will be closed to the public in accordance with the provisions set forth in sections 552b(c)(4) and 552b(c)(6), Title 5 U.S.C., as amended. The grant applications and the discussions could disclose confidential trade secrets or commercial property such as patentable material, and personal information concerning individuals associated with the grant applications, the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. Name of Committee: National Cancer Institute Special Emphasis Panel; Oncology Models Forum. Date: October 21, 2014. Time: 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Agenda: To review and evaluate grant applications. Place: National Cancer Institute Shady Grove, 9609 Medical Center Drive, Room 7W530, Rockville, MD 20850, (Telephone Conference Call). Contact Person: Shamala K. Srinivas, Ph.D., Scientific Review Officer, Office of Referral, Review, and Program Coordination, Division of Extramural Activities, National Cancer Institute, 9609 Medical Center Drive, Room 7W530, Bethesda, MD 20892–9750, 240–276–6442 ss537t@nih.gov. Information is also available on the Institute’s/Center’s home page: https:// deainfo.nci.nih.gov/advisory/sep/sep.htm, where an agenda and any additional information for the meeting will be posted when available. (Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance Program Nos. 93.392, Cancer Construction; 93.393, Cancer Cause and Prevention Research; 93.394, Cancer Detection and Diagnosis Research; 93.395, Cancer Treatment Research; 93.396, Cancer Biology Research; 93.397, Cancer Centers Support; 93.398, Cancer Research Manpower; 93.399, Cancer Control, National Institutes of Health, HHS) Dated: September 5, 2014. Melanie J. Gray, Program Analyst, Office of Federal Advisory Committee Policy. [FR Doc. 2014–21594 Filed 9–10–14; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4140–01–P BILLING CODE 4150–31–P PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 9990 E:\FR\FM\11SEN1.SGM 11SEN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 176 (Thursday, September 11, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54278-54280]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-21621]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

[File No. 122 3237]


Google Inc.; Analysis to Aid Public Comment

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION: Proposed Consent Agreement.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The consent agreement in this matter settles alleged 
violations of federal law prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts or 
practices. The attached Analysis to Aid Public Comment describes both 
the allegations in the draft complaint and the terms of the consent 
order--embodied in the consent agreement--that would settle these 
allegations.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before October 6, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a comment at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/googleplayconsent online or on paper, by 
following the instructions in the Request for Comment part of the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Write ``Google Inc.--Consent 
Agreement; File No. 122 3237'' on your comment and file your comment 
online at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/googleplayconsent by 
following the instructions on the web-based form. If you prefer to file 
your comment on paper, mail your comment to the following address: 
Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania 
Avenue NW., Suite CC-5610 (Annex D), Washington, DC 20580, or deliver 
your comment to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office 
of the Secretary, Constitution Center, 400 7th Street SW., 5th Floor, 
Suite 5610 (Annex D), Washington, DC 20024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Duane Pozza, Bureau of Consumer 
Protection, (202-326-2042), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 
20580.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to Section 6(f) of the Federal 
Trade

[[Page 54279]]

Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 2.34, 16 CFR 2.34, notice 
is hereby given that the above-captioned consent agreement containing 
consent order to cease and desist, having been filed with and accepted, 
subject to final approval, by the Commission, has been placed on the 
public record for a period of thirty (30) days. The following Analysis 
to Aid Public Comment describes the terms of the consent agreement, and 
the allegations in the complaint. An electronic copy of the full text 
of the consent agreement package can be obtained from the FTC Home Page 
(for September 4, 2014), on the World Wide Web, at https://www.ftc.gov/os/actions.shtm.
    You can file a comment online or on paper. For the Commission to 
consider your comment, we must receive it on or before October 6, 2014. 
Write ``Google Inc.--Consent Agreement; File No. 122 3237'' on your 
comment. Your comment--including your name and your state--will be 
placed on the public record of this proceeding, including, to the 
extent practicable, on the public Commission Web site, at https://www.ftc.gov/os/publiccomments.shtm. As a matter of discretion, the 
Commission tries to remove individuals' home contact information from 
comments before placing them on the Commission Web site.
    Because your comment will be made public, you are solely 
responsible for making sure that your comment does not include any 
sensitive personal information, like anyone's Social Security number, 
date of birth, driver's license number or other state identification 
number or foreign country equivalent, passport number, financial 
account number, or credit or debit card number. You are also solely 
responsible for making sure that your comment does not include any 
sensitive health information, like medical records or other 
individually identifiable health information. In addition, do not 
include any ``[t]rade secret or any commercial or financial information 
which . . . is privileged or confidential,'' as discussed in Section 
6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 
4.10(a)(2). In particular, do not include competitively sensitive 
information such as costs, sales statistics, inventories, formulas, 
patterns, devices, manufacturing processes, or customer names.
    If you want the Commission to give your comment confidential 
treatment, you must file it in paper form, with a request for 
confidential treatment, and you have to follow the procedure explained 
in FTC Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c).\1\ Your comment will be kept 
confidential only if the FTC General Counsel, in his or her sole 
discretion, grants your request in accordance with the law and the 
public interest.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ In particular, the written request for confidential 
treatment that accompanies the comment must include the factual and 
legal basis for the request, and must identify the specific portions 
of the comment to be withheld from the public record. See FTC Rule 
4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Postal mail addressed to the Commission is subject to delay due to 
heightened security screening. As a result, we encourage you to submit 
your comments online. To make sure that the Commission considers your 
online comment, you must file it at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/googleplayconsent by following the instructions on the web-based 
form. If this Notice appears at https://www.regulations.gov/#!home, you 
also may file a comment through that Web site.
    If you file your comment on paper, write ``Google Inc.--Consent 
Agreement; File No. 122 3237'' on your comment and on the envelope, and 
mail your comment to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, 
Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Suite CC-5610 
(Annex D), Washington, DC 20580, or deliver your comment to the 
following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, 
Constitution Center, 400 7th Street SW., 5th Floor, Suite 5610 (Annex 
D), Washington, DC 20024. If possible, submit your paper comment to the 
Commission by courier or overnight service.
    Visit the Commission Web site at https://www.ftc.gov to read this 
Notice and the news release describing it. The FTC Act and other laws 
that the Commission administers permit the collection of public 
comments to consider and use in this proceeding as appropriate. The 
Commission will consider all timely and responsive public comments that 
it receives on or before October 6, 2014. You can find more 
information, including routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, in 
the Commission's privacy policy, at https://www.ftc.gov/ftc/privacy.htm.

Analysis of Proposed Consent Order to Aid Public Comment

    The Federal Trade Commission (``Commission'') has accepted, subject 
to final approval, an agreement containing a consent order from Google 
Inc. (``Google'').
    The proposed consent order has been placed on the public record for 
30 days for receipt of comments by interested persons. Comments 
received during this period will become part of the public record. 
After 30 days, the Commission will again review the agreement and the 
comments received, and will decide whether it should withdraw from the 
agreement and take appropriate action or make final the agreement's 
proposed order.
    Google bills consumers for charges related to activity within 
software applications (``apps'') that consumers download to their 
mobile devices from Google's Google Play store. This matter concerns 
Google's billing for charges incurred by children in apps that are 
likely to be used by children without having obtained the account 
holders' express informed consent.
    The Commission's proposed complaint alleges that Google offers 
thousands of apps, including games that children are likely to play, 
and that in many instances, children can obtain virtual items within a 
game app that cost money. Google bills parents and other adult account 
holders for items that cost money within an app--``in-app charges.'' In 
connection with billing for children's in-app charges, Google in many 
instances did not request a password or other method to obtain account 
holder authorization. Currently, in connection with billing for 
children's in-app charges, Google only sometimes requests a parent's 
Google password. In many instances, once the password is entered, 
Google begins a thirty-minute window during which purchases can be made 
by children without further action by the account holder. During this 
process, Google in many instances has not informed account holders that 
password entry will approve a charge or initiate a thirty-minute window 
during which children using the app can incur charges without further 
action by the account holder. The Commission's proposed complaint 
alleges that, through these practices, Google often has failed to 
obtain parents' informed consent to charges incurred by children, which 
constitutes an unfair practice under Section 5 of the FTC Act.
    The proposed order contains provisions designed to prevent Google 
from engaging in the same or similar acts or practices in the future. 
Part I of the proposed order requires Google to obtain express, 
informed consent to in-app charges before billing for such charges, and 
to allow consumers to revoke consent to prospective in-app charges at 
any time. As defined in the proposed order, express, informed consent 
requires an affirmative act communicating authorization of an in-app 
charge (such as entering a password), made proximate to both an in-app 
activity for which Google is

[[Page 54280]]

billing a charge and a clear and conspicuous disclosure of material 
information about the charge. Under the definition, the act and 
disclosure must be reasonably calculated to ensure that the person 
providing consent is the account holder (as opposed to the child). The 
proposed order would require the disclosure to appear at least once per 
mobile device.
    Part II of the proposed order requires Google to provide full 
refunds to Google account holders who have been billed by Google for 
unauthorized in-app charges incurred by minors, for a year following 
entry of the order. If Google's refunds total less than $19 million, 
Google will remit any remaining balance to the Commission to be used 
for informational remedies, further redress, or payment to the U.S. 
Treasury as equitable disgorgement. To effectuate refunds, Google must 
send an electronic notice to its consumers that clearly and 
conspicuously discloses the availability of refunds and instructions on 
how to obtain such refunds. Within 30 days of the end of the one-year 
redress period, Google must provide the Commission with records of 
refund requests, refunds paid, and any refunds denied.
    Parts III through VII of the proposed order are reporting and 
compliance provisions. Part III of the proposed order requires Google 
to maintain and upon request make available certain compliance-related 
records, including certain consumer complaints and refund requests, for 
a period of five years. Part IV is an order distribution provision that 
requires Google to provide the order to current and future principals, 
officers, and corporate directors, as well as current and future 
managers, employees, agents, and representatives who participate in 
certain duties related to the subject matter of the proposed complaint 
and order.
    Part V requires Google to notify the Commission of corporate 
changes that may affect compliance obligations within 14 days of such a 
change. Part VI requires Google to submit a compliance report 90 days 
after entry of the order. It also requires Google to submit additional 
compliance reports within 10 business days of a written request by the 
Commission. Part VII is a provision ``sunsetting'' the order after 20 
years, with certain exceptions.
    The purpose of this analysis is to aid public comment on the 
proposed order. It is not intended to constitute an official 
interpretation of the complaint or proposed order, or to modify in any 
way the proposed order's terms.

    By direction of the Commission, Commissioner Wright recused.
Donald S. Clark,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2014-21621 Filed 9-10-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P
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