The Taipei city government said Friday it will appeal a court ruling
which revoked a fine it imposed on the US Internet giant Google in a
dispute over its mobile phone apps.
The city government in 2011 fined
Google Tw$1 million ($34,000) for refusing to grant customers a
seven-day trial period on its mobile phone apps, in accordance with
Taiwan's consumer protection law.
The decision was upheld when
Google appealed to the economics ministry last year but the Taipei High
Administrative Court last week decided to revoke it, saying the city
government should not interfere in a dispute between a firm and
consumers.
"We do not wish to see Google exit the Taiwan market
but we urge Google to respect and protect consumers' rights. We will
appeal the court ruling," said an official at the government's consumer
protection division.
The capital city's government in 2011 said
that Google and Apple had violated the law and ordered them to amend
their trading rules. Apple later complied with the law while Google
refused, it said.
Under the terms of service for Google's Android
Market, consumers are entitled to a refund only within 15 minutes of
purchasing a product online.
Google has suspended the sale of its paid apps in Taiwan since the dispute.