A public civil action in Brazil filed on July 30 called on Apple to protect children from casino games on the iPhone and implement effective age verification systems. Now the Court of Justice of São Paulo says the tech giant must take measures to prevent children under 18 from downloading and shopping in the “Casino Roulette:” app.
According to Tilt, the action requests that the Justice set a daily fine of R$ 500,000 (approximately US$98million) if the tech giant doesn’t comply with the measures in 10 days. Apple says will comply and should release an update soon to address the issue.
Anced (National Association of Centers for the Defense of Children and Adolescents), Educafro Brasil, and the Santo Dias Center for Human Rights filed a civil lawsuit on July 30 asking Apple to implement an effective age-verification system for all casino games distributed through the App Store.
And Brazil’s Ministry of Justice and Public Security (MJSP) wants Apple and Google to provide explanations about the control of betting apps in the App Store and Play Store, reports CanalTech.
The ministry wants to know how the tech giants identify unauthorized bets by minors. Apple and Google have five business days to respond. The request was made by the National Secretariat of Digital Rights and the National Consumer Secretariat. According to the MJSP, the request seeks to gather information and doesn’t represent a punishment for the two companies. At least not yet.
From the MJSP request: The requested clarifications include how the regulatory authorizations of apps made available in Brazil are validated; the technical criteria used to distinguish simulation apps from apps involving bets with economic value, including cases in which features are hidden or changed after approval; and the mechanisms adopted to prevent minors from accessing inappropriate content.
Information was also requested on active monitoring procedures; risk-prioritization criteria; average removal times after detection; and the timetable for implementing the announced corrective measures, including the software update intended to prevent users under 18 from downloading apps classified as not recommended for that age group.
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