The Federal Trade Commission has settled with W3 Innovations, which owns children’s app developer Broken Thumbs, for $50,000, after the developer was charged with violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act by collecting information from children under the age of 13 without their parents’ permission. (Several apps produced by Broken Thumbs were downloaded more than 50,000 times.) FTC chairman Jon Liebovitz said in a statement: “The F.T.C.’s COPPA Rule requires parental notice and consent before collecting children’s personal information online, whether through a Web site or a mobile app. Companies must give parents the opportunity to make smart choices when […]
eNews
eNews: IndieBound Partners With BlueFire on eReading Software; Amazon Cracks Down On PLR eBooks; and More
The ABA announced last week that it is working with BlueFire to create a version of the company’s Reader app, which will be called the IndieBound Reader, for IndieCommerce stores selling Google eBooks. The app is scheduled to launch in the next 60 days. The Android version of the app will link back to indie bookstores, while the iOS version will not because of Apple’s rules about in-app purchases and links to outbound e-commerce stores. Users will be able to buy books using their Google ID instead of having to active an account with Adobe Digital Editions (as is the […]
Briefs: Pearson Gets Go-Ahead To Buy REDGroup Online Business; Sharing Google Books in Google+; and More
Some of the news that’s accumulated on a Friday in August: The Australian Competition Commission announced it “would not oppose” Pearson’s acquisition of the bankrupt REDGroup Retail’s online business, including the websites for Borders Australia and Angus & Robertson. saying it “will provide a summary of the reasons for its decision in due course.” Administrators Ferrier Hodgson also said that creditors must lodge any last claims against REDGroup by September 1, with final dividends due to be paid out in October. In addition, any customers still holding Angus & Robertson and Borders gift cards who file claims with administrators will […]
Attorney Discusses Agency Lawsuit
In an interview on Wednesday, managing partner at law firm Hagens Berman Steve Berman confirmed a number of the inferences in our initial report on their lawsuit against Apple and the Agency Five publishers. Berman admits that for now they have no actual evidence of collusion and no information beyond what is already well-known publicly and outlined in their complaint. But he believes that provides a sufficiently “plausible allegation…that there was a conspiracy” to get a judge’s approval to go forward with the case and compel discovery. (Berman also has no direct knowledge of the civil investigations into the same […]
As Promised, Kindle Launches HTML5 Reading App
Amazon launched their Kindle Cloud Reader today, an HTML5 reading app that works through web browsers both online and offline. By using the browser, the app can work on iPads through Safari (as long as they are running iOS4 and higher). It works on all computer-based versions of Safari, and Google’s Chrome as well. It does not currently work on iPhones, but the company says it “will be available on additional web browsers, including Internet Explorer, Firefox, the BlackBerry PlayBook browser, and other mobile browsers, in the coming months.” For iPad users, the app includes an “integrated, touch optimized store,” […]
Class-Action Law Firm Files Suit Against Publishers and Apple Over Agency Model
Class-action law specialists Hagens Berman filed suit in a San Francisco Federal Court against Apple, along with Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin and Simon & Schuster, over the agency model of ebook pricing. On behalf of two people who bought ebooks, the firm alleges that Apple and the publishers are “in violation of a variety of federal and state antitrust laws, the Sherman Act, the Cartwright Act and the Unfair Competition Act.” Aside from explaining the agency model in florid terms, the essence of the complaint appears for now to rest on twists of logic and reasoning–or tautologies–rather than […]