Internal Facebook Memo Reveals The Company Encouraged ‘Friendly Fraud’

In-app purchases are a way that developers can earn more money from their creations. This is why the model is widely used in games, although in the past Apple and Google have run into trouble when kids racked up thousands of dollars in purchases with seemingly no measures in place to prevent it.

Apple and Google have since come up with ways to mitigate the problem, but over at Facebook it seems that such “problems” are encouraged. A report from RevealNews has revealed the contents of an internal memo in which Facebook seemed to encourage developers to commit what they are calling “Friendly Fraud”.

This is where Facebook told developers that they should allow children to spend money without their parents’ permission. This would in turn allow them to maximize their revenue. The memos also that Facebook knew that some kids were spending money without knowing it. This did not sit well with some Facebook employees who even came up with countermeasures to prevent children from being duped into paying money without their knowledge, but apparently these ideas were shot down.

Facebook has since responded to the article with a statement that reads, “We routinely examine our own practices, and in 2016 agreed to update our terms and provide dedicated resources for refund requests related to purchased made by minors on Facebook.”

Tyler Lee
Categories: General
Tags: Facebook