Nanny State

FTC Dissenting Commissioner: Apple Ruling "Without Merit"

Says company was already rectifying situation

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In the dissent, which was issued alongside the FTC's own decision, Commissioner Joshua D. Wright echoed Apple chief Tim Cook's own conclusion that the Cupertino, Calif. company had already taken sufficient action — instituting refunds and altering the behavior of in-app purchase prompts — to remedy any hardships caused by children's accidental purchases. The opinion wasfirst spotted by Fortune's Philip Elmer-Dewitt.

"When the problem arose in late 2010, press reports indicate that Apple developed a strategy for addressing the problem in a way that it believed made sense, and it also refunded customers that reported unintended purchases," Wright wrote.