Amazon agrees to refund up to $70 million worth of in-app purchases made by kids

Roughly a year after Amazon was found guilty of billing consumers for unauthorized in-app purchases made by children, the company has finally stopped appealing the decision, meaning affected customers could soon be reimbursed. 

The retail giant was taken to task by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which filed a lawsuit alleging its purchase protocols allowed children to "spend unlimited amounts of money."

More than $70 million worth of in-app purchases made between November 2011 and May 2016 may be eligible for refund, highlighting the sheer scale of the problem

"This case demonstrates what should be a bedrock principle for all companies -- you must get customers’ consent before you charge them," said Thomas B. Pahl, acting director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. 

"Consumers affected by Amazon's practices can now be compensated for charges they didn’t expect or authorize."