Diet App's 'Unfair Terms and Exaggerated Advertising'... Consumer Damage Concerns

Korea Consumer Agency Survey... 7 out of 10 Apps Restrict Contract Termination and Refunds

Advertisement that may be mistaken for a medical device.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] It has been found that some mobile applications (apps) related to diet, health, and exercise contain terms unfavorable to consumers or exaggerated advertisements, requiring caution when using these services.

On the 28th, the Korea Consumer Agency announced that out of 10 related apps with more than 1,000 daily users as of October last year, 7 restricted contract termination and refund of payments.

Specifically, among 5 apps that charge monthly or annual subscription fees via automatic payment, 2 allowed contract termination and subscription fee refunds only within 7 days from the payment date. The remaining 3 apps, which only allowed in-app payments using the App Store’s own system, did not refund the amount corresponding to the remaining period even if the automatic payment was canceled; only the regular payment from the next cycle was canceled. Two apps that set contract periods on a monthly or weekly basis either did not allow termination after half of the contract period had passed or only permitted termination within a week from the contract date, refunding only half of the payment amount as store credit upon termination.

Analysis of the terms and conditions of the 10 apps under investigation showed that 2 stipulated that the business operator is not liable for damages even if the service is discontinued due to the operator’s circumstances, and allowed service usage restrictions without clear reasons. Additionally, 4 apps allowed the use of consumers’ creative works such as reviews without prior consent, only requiring notification. Two apps defined the purpose of using such works vaguely and arbitrarily as “service and business-related.” The Consumer Agency pointed out, “Posts such as reviews written directly by consumers qualify as copyrighted works and require consumers’ consent before use according to copyright law.”

Among the 10 apps, 3 advertised general foods in a way that could mislead consumers into believing they are health functional foods effective for immunity, etc., and 1 app advertised a general massager as a medical device that helps blood circulation and pain relief. The Consumer Agency recommended that the operators of these apps improve unreasonable terms and exaggerated product advertisements.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.