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​Here come Amazon's refunds for your kids' in-app purchases

As much as $70 million in charges could be eligible for refunds after the FTC and the online retailer have put to rest a lawsuit over parental consent.

Stephen Shankland Former Principal Writer
Stephen Shankland worked at CNET from 1998 to 2024 and wrote about processors, digital photography, AI, quantum computing, computer science, materials science, supercomputers, drones, browsers, 3D printing, USB, and new computing technology in general. He has a soft spot in his heart for standards groups and I/O interfaces. His first big scoop was about radioactive cat poop.
Expertise Processors, semiconductors, web browsers, quantum computing, supercomputers, AI, 3D printing, drones, computer science, physics, programming, materials science, USB, UWB, Android, digital photography, science. Credentials
  • Shankland covered the tech industry for more than 25 years and was a science writer for five years before that. He has deep expertise in microprocessors, digital photography, computer hardware and software, internet standards, web technology, and more.
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Stephen Shankland
Amazon's Fire Kids Edition tablet

Amazon's Fire Kids Edition tablet

 Amazon

If your kid ran up a big bill with in-app purchases on some Amazon device, you may be in for some money.

The Federal Trade Commission and Amazon have agreed to drop a long-running legal case about in-app purchases. The FTC argued Amazon didn't get parents' consent for in-app purchases their kids made with apps downloaded through the company's app store, and federal courts found in favor of the FTC.

Amazon and the FTC agreed to end appeals in the case, the FTC said Tuesday, clearing the way for a refund process.

"More than $70 million in in-app charges made between November 2011 and May 2016 may be eligible for refunds," the FTC said. "Details on the refund program, which Amazon will operate, will be announced shortly."

Amazon declined to comment.