Amazon Vows Court Battle With FTC Over Childrens' Protection

Amazon.com Inc. AMZN will launch a legal battle against the Federal Trade Commission rather than submit to the agency's demand that it tighten policies on children buying its mobile applications. If parents complain that their children have made unauthorized purchases, "we refunded those purchases," Amazon attorney Andrew DeVore said in a letter to the FTC leaked to the Wall Street Journal Wednesday. DeVore told the agency that Amazon will "defend our approach in court," rather than agree to fines and other proposed requirements. Apple Inc. AAPL settled a similar case with the FTC in January when it agreed to customer refunds of at least $32.5 million. Apple's Chief Executive Tim Cook said at the time he accepted the settlement to avoid a "long and distracting legal fight." Apple had already settled a class-action suit representing aggrieved parents and received 37,000 refund claims related to the issue.