The Taipei City Government yesterday agreed to extend the deadline of an ultimatum given to Google Inc mandating that it introduce a seven-day free trial policy for its Android online store, but it again urged the search-engine giant to adhere to its regulations.
The city’s Law and Regulation Commission had demanded that Google start offering a seven-day free trial mechanism for paid apps on its Android Market yesterday, but announced that it would give the company two more weeks to revise its refund policy following a closed-door meeting with representatives from Google’s headquarters in the US.
Google Android policy counsel Kenneth Carter said prior to the meeting at Taipei City Hall yesterday afternoon that the company “looked forward to the meeting” with the city government, but declined to comment following the hour-long meeting.
Later, in a written statement, Google said the company had a “constructive and fruitful” discussion with the city government on the issue and that it expected to solve the dispute as soon as possible.
Yeh Ching-yuan (葉慶元), director of the commission, said the discussion focused on the Consumer Protection Act (消保法) and that Carter had promised to explain the details of the law to top officials at the company and study the possibility of revising its refund mechanism.
Android Market provides a 15-minute refund window for all paid apps, while its “Google Checkout” program serves as a window for consumers to contact app sellers for a refund.
The Consumer Protection Act requires a free trial period of at least seven days for items purchased on the Web because consumers cannot feel or touch the goods they have purchased.
“Any international corporation should abide by the law when doing business in Taiwan and we are hoping Google will respect the law,” Yeh said.
Google will be given until July 14 to announce its decision, Yeh said, but he declined to say whether the commission would fine the company again if it refuses to revise its refund mechanism.
On June 4, the city government gave Apple Inc and Google a 15-day grace period to revise their app stores and service provisions to include a seven-day free trial.
Apple complied with the request, while Google refused to cooperate and removed the paid app section from its online store last Friday.
The city government fined Google NT$1 million (US$34,550) for failing to comply with the request.
Yeh said consumers were welcome to call the consumer hotline 1950 if they have any questions regarding apps purchased on Android Market.
Apple Inc sent a written statement to the city government yesterday confirming its cooperation. The revised store will launch on Friday next week, the -commission said.
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