Applications freemium are those titles that are available for free in App Store, but they have implemented in-app purchases that allow the purchase of content to enhance their functionality. These are the most profitable applications of App Store, but they are also the ones that generate the greatest confusion among users, and the Italian antitrust agency he thought to investigate this type of applications.
The investigation also covers the freemium titles available in Google Play or the shop from Amazon, the authorities claiming that users are deceived by this deceptive model. More precisely, the authorities say that users download these applications believing that they are available for free, but in reality they have to pay serious sums of money to have full functionality or various bonuses.
If any of the three companies is found guilty of violating antitrust legislation in Italy, the government agency can impose fines of up to 5 million euros for each of them. Apple was also fined in Italy with over 1 million euros for non-compliance with the European legislation regarding the granting of warranty for its products, the Americans then having to give up their practices and correctly notify their customers about their rights.
