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Apple Sued Over In-App Purchases By Children

CUPERTINO (CBS/AP) -- Apple is facing a lawsuit from aPennsylvania man whose 9-year-old daughter racked up $200 buying "Zombie Toxin" and other game items on an iPod.

The lawsuit seeks class-action status, saying Garen Meguerian of Phoenixville is among many people with bill shock after children went on buying sprees in iPhone, iPad and iPod games.

An Associated Press story in December highlighted the issue. In many cases, it appeared that children bought the items without knowing they were spending real money. ITunes didn't ask for a password for in-game purchases for 15 minutes after it had been entered for any reason.

Apple tightened its password policy with a software update in March. It had no comment on the federal lawsuit filed last week in San Francisco, which CNET reported on earlier.

(Copyright 2011 by CBSSan Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services may have contributed to this report.)

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