Parents, we know it is frustrating when your child goes behind your back and spends your hard-earned money on in-app purchases and the like. As the parent, it is your job to teach your child right from wrong; it is not up to Apple or TikTok to teach your child the right thing to do especially when the child is on the spectrum (meaning that he or she has some degree of learning disabilities because of autism).
10-year old girl spends nearly $2,500 of her father’s money to make TikTok purchases behind her dad’s back
Father buys his autistic daughter a new iPhone this past Christmas
Apple eventually refunded the money back to the parent
Ironically, the father had activated the child safety controls on his child’s previous iPhone model, just not on the new one. The TikTok creator whom the child made the payments to has over four million followers and was verified by TikTok. At first, TikTok said that the member, using the code name “Ohidur247,” hadn’t broken any rules but didn’t explain what the payments were for.
TikTok was pressed to investigate further and discovered that the member had violated guidelines related to frauds and scams. The member was taking payments in exchange for followers which goes against TikTok rules. After hearing about the new information, Apple decided to reimburse the parent in full while also reminding him that parental controls are available.
The Telegraph report noted that Apple’s payment system “should have flagged up suspicious activity and blocked the payments,” similar to the anti-fraud measures that raise red flags after certain purchases are made using a bank’s purchasing platform.
As for “Ohidur247,” he apparently remains a TikTok member in good standing although he is no longer allowed to live-stream. His account is still active and verified.
