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Violation Tracker Individual Record

Company: Google Inc.
Current Parent Company: Alphabet Inc.
Penalty: $19,000,000
Year: 2014
Date: December 5, 2014
Offense Group: consumer-protection-related offenses
Primary Offense: consumer protection violation
Violation Description: Following a public comment period, the Federal Trade Commission approved a final order resolving FTC allegations that Google, Inc., unfairly billed consumers for in-app charges incurred by children without their parents' consent. Google was required to contact all consumers who had an in-app charge to inform them of the refund process for unauthorized in-app charges by children within 15 days of the order being finalized. Google was must make these refunds promptly, upon request from an account holder. Should the company provide less than $19 million in refunds within a year of the settlement's approval, the company will be required to remit the balance to the Commission for use in providing additional remedies to consumers or for return to the U.S. Treasury.
Level of Government: federal
Action Type: agency action
Agency: Federal Trade Commission
Civil or Criminal Case: civil
HQ Country of Current Parent: USA
HQ State of Current Parent: California
Ownership Structure of Current Parent: publicly traded
Major Industry of Current Parent: information technology
Specific Industry of Current Parent: internet services
Source of Data: (click here)
Source Notes: If an online information source is not working, check the Violation Tracker Data Sources page for an updated link.
Current parent company note: Parent-subsidiary relationship is current as of the most recent revision listed in the Update Log.