The Taipei City Government has ordered local branches of Apple Inc and Google Inc to introduce a seven-day free trial program at their mobile phone software stores within 15 days, a senior official said yesterday.
“If the two companies fail to meet the requirement by the deadline, they may be slapped with fines of up to NT$1.5 million [US$52,300],” said Yeh Ching-yuan (葉慶元), head of the city government’s Law and Regulation Commission.
Consumers can buy and download applications on their mobile phones through Apple Store or Google’s Android Market, but neither offers a seven-day free trial program that allows customers to return the applications or receive refunds.
Yeh said the absence of a return and refund mechanism violates the Consumer Protection Act (消費者保護法), which requires corporations to offer a free trial period of at least seven days.
In the past, online shopping operators said that they were not covered by the provision, but Yeh said the city government reached an agreement with online auction Web site operators last year to have them adhere to the free-trial provision.
Yeh said because purchasing mobile app software via smartphones or cellphones was a recent trend, the city government did not include this market in last year’s deal.
The commission has given Apple and Google a 15-day grace period to revise their mobile phone software sales and service provisions to include a seven-day free trial mechanism.
If they refuse to abide by the directive, the two companies could face fines ranging between NT$60,000 and NT$1.5 million, Yeh said.
In an example of the problem the city government is trying to prevent, Yeh cited a case of software bought on Apple Store on Thursday that did not work, but left the buyer without recourse.
According to Apple Store and Android Market rules, the two companies are not liable for apps or smartphone/cellphone software developed by a third party, even if they are sold through their online platforms.
“Such a claim is an irresponsible business practice,” Yeh said.
Yeh said that if flawed software apps were thought to threaten the financial interests of potential buyers, online suppliers of those programs would be ordered to stop sales and allow customers to return them or get refunds, in accordance with Article 36 of the Consumers Protection Act.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) secured a record 70.2 percent share of the global foundry business in the second quarter, up from 67.6 percent the previous quarter, and continued widening its lead over second-placed Samsung Electronics Co, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said on Monday. TSMC posted US$30.24 billion in sales in the April-to-June period, up 18.5 percent from the previous quarter, driven by major smartphone customers entering their ramp-up cycle and robust demand for artificial intelligence chips, laptops and PCs, which boosted wafer shipments and average selling prices, TrendForce said in a report. Samsung’s sales also grew in the second quarter, up
LIMITED IMPACT: Investor confidence was likely sustained by its relatively small exposure to the Chinese market, as only less advanced chips are made in Nanjing Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) saw its stock price close steady yesterday in a sign that the loss of the validated end user (VEU) status for its Nanjing, China, fab should have a mild impact on the world’s biggest contract chipmaker financially and technologically. Media reports about the waiver loss sent TSMC down 1.29 percent during the early trading session yesterday, but the stock soon regained strength and ended at NT$1,160, unchanged from Tuesday. Investors’ confidence in TSMC was likely built on its relatively small exposure to the Chinese market, as Chinese customers contributed about 9 percent to TSMC’s revenue last
On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump weighed in on a pressing national issue: The rebranding of a restaurant chain. Last week, Cracker Barrel, a Tennessee company whose nationwide locations lean heavily on a cozy, old-timey aesthetic — “rocking chairs on the porch, a warm fire in the hearth, peg games on the table” — announced it was updating its logo. Uncle Herschel, the man who once appeared next to the letters with a barrel, was gone. It sparked ire on the right, with Donald Trump Jr leading a charge against the rebranding: “WTF is wrong with Cracker Barrel?!” Later, Trump Sr weighed
LOOPHOLES: The move is to end a break that was aiding foreign producers without any similar benefit for US manufacturers, the US Department of Commerce said US President Donald Trump’s administration would make it harder for Samsung Electronics Co and SK Hynix Inc to ship critical equipment to their chipmaking operations in China, dealing a potential blow to the companies’ production in the world’s largest semiconductor market. The US Department of Commerce in a notice published on Friday said that it was revoking waivers for Samsung and SK Hynix to use US technologies in their Chinese operations. The companies had been operating in China under regulations that allow them to import chipmaking equipment without applying for a new license each time. The move would revise what is known
RSS