freemium games

Google will no longer label freemium games as ‘free’

The court-ordered rules prohibit Google from advertising games that include in-app purchases as ‘free’ in European markets, over fears children are being targeted and consumers are being misled.

As well as scrapping the 'free' label, Google will device new guidelines for developers to avoid encouraging children and will also add approval prompts to all apps by default.

While Google has been praised for the move, Apple has come under fire for not committing to a solution.

"Regrettably, no concrete and immediate solutions have been made by Apple to date to address the concerns linked in particular to payment authorisation," the Commission said in a statement.

Apple believes its current strategy is efficient and goes "far beyond the features of others in the industry".

Earlier this year however Apple paid the FTC $32.5 million (about £18.9m, AU$34.4m) to 37,000 customers forced to pay for virtual items they never wanted in the first place.

The iPhone maker responded to the Commission stating, "Apple takes great pride in leading the industry in parental controls that are incredibly easy to use and help ensure a great experience for parents and children on the App Store.

"The parental controls in iOS are strong, intuitive and customisable. And over the last year we made sure any app which enables customers to make in-app purchases is clearly marked.

"Our goal is to continue to provide the best experience for our customers and we will continue to work with the EC member states to respond to their concerns."