Friday, May 25, 2012

RealNetworks Pays $2.4M In Washington AG Settlement

Seattle-based RealNetworks has agreed to pay a $2.4M settlement, in a deal announced by Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna. According to McKenna, RealNetworks, the settlement comes after the Better Business Bureau received hundreds of complaints from customers for subscriptions to content they never ordered, related to RealNetworks' use of free trials which converted into paid subscriptions. RealNetworks has agreed to stop using pre-checked boxes for services, and to make it easier for users to cancel their subscriptions online, although the company said it had already improved its practices in recent years.