Parents of 10-year-old in Kyoto who spent ¥4.6 million on TikTok and more seek reimbursement

It’s not uncommon for exhausted parents to let their kids play on a smartphone as a quick and easy way to provide a distraction. We can only imagine, however, the reaction of one set of parents in Kyoto when they finally realized exactly what their son had been up to on the phone over the course of June through August of last year.

The ten-year-old boy in question spent a total of approximately 4.6 million yen n in-app purchases and more while using the smartphones of his two underage brothers. The majority, or 3.7 million yen of the total amount, was spent on tipping content creators in TikTok. His parents are now seeking financial reimbursement of approximately 2.8 million yen, having filed a case in the Kyoto District Court on July 9. The defendants are TikTok’s operator ByteDance Japan and payment provider Apple Japan. The parents had previously consulted their local Consumer Affairs Center, filed a petition with Apple Japan, and were refunded only 900,000 yen. They had also contacted ByteJapan through a representative but have not received a response.

Under Japanese Civil Code, contracts made by minors without parental consent can be canceled–but not if the party in question has falsely claimed to be an adult. However, in this case, the 10-year-old’s parents are arguing that the age verification procedures in place through both companies were inadequate, and that even if the boy had registered as being of age, his purchases should be allowed to be canceled. A lawyer for the case has stated that providers are obligated to thoroughly confirm the ages of their users and provide refunds in the case of children racking up high charges.

We can only wait to see what decision the court arrives at, but in the meantime, it sounds like this might be one family that would be in favor of a prefectural ordinance for daily smartphone usage for all ages.