Google wins lawsuit against Taipei government

Google has won its lawsuit against the Taipei city government after a local court ruled the latter had no authority to ask the search giant to revise its terms of sales for mobile apps.

Central News Agency (CNA) reported Thursday the Taipei High Administrative Court, citing Taiwan's consumer protection law, issued the ruling saying the city government could not regulate, much less impose a fine on, Google's practice of allowing just 15 minutes to consumers to cancel an app purchase.

Taipei had imposed a NT$1 million on the search giant last June for its terms of sales, saying it contravened against the local law of allowing seven days to return a purchase. Google responded by blocking the sale of paid apps in the country.

The legal affairs department of the Taipei city government has vowed to appeal against the ruling and take its case to the Supreme Administrative Court, the report said.

An unnamed official from the legal department noted by denying the city government's powers to protect consumers, the court ruling might result in individuals suing Google separately, which is time-consuming and costly. The city government will continue to negotiate with the U.S. company to give local consumers a longer refund grace period, the source added.