FTC sues Amazon over children's unauthorized in-app charges

The Federal Trade Commission is suing Amazon over charges that the company has not done enough to prevent children from making millions of dollars in unauthorized in-app purchases, according to a complaint filed Thursday in federal court.

The move had been expected since last week, when Amazon said it wouldn't settle with the FTC over the charges. Amazon said it already refunded money to parents who complained and was prepared to go to court.

The lawsuit seeks a court order requiring refunds to consumers for unauthorized charges. It also seeks to ban Amazon from billing account holders for in-app charges made without their consent.

The FTC settled with Apple over a similar matter for $32.5 million in January.

Amazon did not respond immediately to a request for comment.