South Korea’s antitrust watchdog said Wednesday that it is looking to put strict regulations on mobile application stores, including those of Google and Apple, due to the growing number of complaints about unfair sales practices.

The Fair Trade Commission said it will ask Google’s Google Play and Apple’s iTunes App Store to review their guidelines to ensure they comply with certain consumer protection standards.

Currently, consumers cannot receive a refund for an app purchased on the two app marketplaces. The app stores also accept no responsibility for any loss or damage that may arise from using app content, according to the FTC.

The FTC added that there were also an increasing number of complaints about the app vendors setting unfair conditions on mobile app developers.

“We have already contacted Google and Apple, and we’re talking to them about possible changes in their mobile app guidelines,” an FTC official told The Korea Herald.

“We’re hoping they will change the rules voluntarily. If not, we may have to take necessary actions against them,” he said.

The announcement came after the antitrust regulator had advised the country’s four major app stores to revise their guidelines on consumer protection.

The four app vendors ― KT, SK Planet, LG’s Smart World and LG Uplus ― all recently changed their mobile app policies in accordance with the FTC’s recommendations, the antitrust watchdog said.

By Oh Kyu-wook (596story@heraldcorp.com)