Watchdog to rein-in rogue app developers

[Simon]

App makers have been warned to improve their charging controls after a watchdog reported a pair of Android apps were wrongfully billing users.

Earlier this year, premium-rate regulator PhonepayPlus fined mobile payments provider mBlox £135,000, after discovering that a free battery monitoring app - made by mBlox's client SJA Mobile - was sending text messages to premium rate services without permission from users.

mBlox claims it had no knowledge of the rogue app and passed the fine onto SJA Mobile. "At no stage was mBlox accused of having any knowledge or role in creating this harmful application," said mBlox CEO, Andrew Dark.

The second case also saw a mobile app send paid-for messages that couldn't be shut off. If the user sent a message to stop the premium texts, the app simply sent another to turn it back on. That firm was fined £30,000.

Read more: http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/370144/watchdog-to-rein-in-rogue-app-developers

[Lance]

Certainly shows the advantage Apple has by authorising all apps. It wouldn't surprise me to see Google in time try to copy Apple's approach.

[Simon]

In which case, Apple will probably sue them. 

[Rik]

Bound to. I wonder if the penalties reflect the profits the companies made?