Apple to pay parents whose kids made unauthorized in-app purchases

Back in 2011, the Federal Trade Commission promised to look into the controls Apple had in place to prevent minors from making in-app purchases on iOS games. It has taken quite a while, but it looks like there's finally movement happening on that front: just shy of four months after a five-year-old in the UK bought $2,500 worth of in-app bling, Apple is releasing details about a class-action settlement intended to resolve the issue.

Details of the settlement can be found on this site (which, ironically, appears to be programmed in Microsoft ASP.NET and served on Microsoft IIS 7.5):

If you are eligible for settlement benefits, you may choose between (a) a single $5 iTunes Store credit or (b) a credit equal to the total amount of Game Currency that a minor charged to your iTunes account without your knowledge or permission within a single forty-five (45) day period, less any refund you previously received. A cash refund in lieu of an iTunes Store credit is available if (a) you no longer have an active iTunes account, or (b) your claims exceed $30 in total. Additional requirements for claiming charges after the forty-five (45) day period apply.

In typical class-action fashion, the settlement provides a small amount of remuneration in the form of a $5 iTunes gift card if you claim that a minor purchased less than $30 of unauthorized stuff; if you have more than $30 in unauthorized purchases, the settlement will provide some undefined amount of cash.

There's a form that applicants can fill out to join the settlement class along with specific instructions on what information you need to provide. Potentially eligible customers should already be receiving e-mails (the full text of which is reproduced on 9to5Mac); the deadline for submitting claims is January 13, 2014.