Atlantic Monthly Contributors's Blog, page 824

National Security Employees Sure Hate Edward Snowden

Reuters

While many people have come to Edward Snowden's defense, it seems that there is still one segment of people that harbors a particular hatred for the former NSA contractor: those who still work for the NSA.

BuzzFeed's Benny Johnson spoke with a number of current national security and defense employees, and they leave little to the imagination. 

“In a world where I would not be restricted from killing an American, I personally would go and kill him myself.” “I would love to put a bullet in his head.” “Most everyone I talk to says he needs to be tried and hung, forget the trial and just hang him.”

When it comes to Snowden, it seems that—much like domestic surveillance—NSA workers don't like to do things halfway.

One Army intelligence officer provided this gem:

“I think if we had the chance, we would end it very quickly,” he said. “Just casually walking on the streets of Moscow, coming back from buying his groceries. Going back to his flat and he is casually poked by a passerby. He thinks nothing of it at the time starts to feel a little woozy and thinks it’s a parasite from the local water. He goes home very innocently and next thing you know he dies in the shower.”

It's no surprise that among such a crowd, Snowden is reviled, but most officials refuse to even comment on the programs that Snowden disclosed, let alone the man himself. Those that have spoken out against him publicly have been at least slightly measured, believing that Snowden deserves, at the very least, a trial. Former NSA chief Michael Hayden compared Snowden to a terrorist and called him narcissistic, but did not call for his extrajudicial execution. President Obama refuses to describe him as a patriot or whistleblower, and has said that Snowden should "appear before a court with a lawyer and make his case."

       

Prisoner Gasped for Breath During Abnormally Long Execution

The death chamber at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville, Ohio circa 2005. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

The execution of Dennis McGuire by lethal injection in an Ohio prison on Thursday took more than 20 minutes on Thursday and reportedly caused the prisoner to struggle for breath, once again calling into question the ethics and efficacy of capital punishment. McGuire's family plans to sue that state over the incident.

McGuire, who raped and killed a pregnant woman named Joy Stewart in 1994, reportedly spent much of the time right before his death gasping and snorting loudly. The Ohio correctional facility was using a new and untested drug cocktail in the procedure. 

From the Associated Press:

McGuire's lawyers had attempted last week to block his execution, arguing that the untried method could lead to a medical phenomenon known as "air hunger" and could cause him to suffer "agony and terror" while struggling to catch his breath.

McGuire, 53, made loud snorting noises during one of the longest executions since Ohio resumed capital punishment in 1999. Nearly 25 minutes passed between the time the lethal drugs began flowing and McGuire was pronounced dead at 10:53 a.m.

Accounts differ as to exactly in what ways and for how long McGuire struggled. The Columbus Dispatch describes choking noises that were not mentioned by the Associated Press. McGuire appeared to gasp and snort for 10 to 13 of the execution's 24-minute duration.

McGuire's cocktail consisted of "midazolam, a sedative, and hydromorphone, a powerful analgesic derived from morphine" which the state's  Department of Rehabilitation and Correction chose, and whose usage was approved by a federal court, after their supply of pentobarbital ran dry in September.

Finding drugs for use in lethal injections has become substantially more difficult for states in recent year. Many of the European companies from which they originate have prohibited their use in capital punishment as a condition of their sale.

Ohio's next execution is scheduled for February 19.

       

Starbucks Is the Latest Company to Not Care About Password Security

A Starbucks cup lurks in the shadows… watching… waiting. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

It was revealed today that the iOS app for coffee chain Starbucks has some lax security standards. According to Computerworld, Starbucks executives confirmed on Tuesday that the app stores usernames and passwords in unencrypted plaintext, making it relatively easy for someone else to get ahold of those login credentials. Good thing most people don't reuse passwords between different online accounts!

Two company executives told Computerworld that the vulnerability—which also includes geolocation data—was not news to them, and that they had known since last November. In a press release Thursday, the company said that they would update the app's security, while adding that there is not a single reported instance of the problem affecting anyone.

It's important to point out that the safety concerns in this particular situation still require a fair amount of jumping through hoops. For one thing, a hacker would need physical access to the phone in order to access the logs that store login credentials, and being able to access a Starbucks account would pretty much limit them to refilling any Starbucks gift card tied to the account—financial death by a thousand lattes. The danger is more that many people reuse passwords between services, and if the same credentials are tied to, let's say, a bank account, things get much hairier.

In the grand scheme of things, the vulnerability ranks pretty low. Tumblr encountered an almost identical situation last summer. In recent memory, Target's hack that compromised the information of 70 million customers still takes the cake, and that company is offering a free year of credit monitoring to their customers.

       

Tom Coburn Is Retiring From the Senate

AP

Republican senator Tom Coburn announced tonight that he will be retiring at the end of this session of Congress, two years before the end of his term.

Coburn, from Oklahoma, announced in November that his prostate cancer had returned (he's also fought melanoma and colon cancer) and he would undergo chemotherapy. He was said last week to be considering retiring before his term was up in January 2017. He was first elected to the Senate in 2004.

But in his statement about his decision, Coburn said "this decision isn't about my health, my prognosis or even my hopes and desires ... As a citizen, I am now convinced that I can best serve my own children and grandchildren by shifting my focus elsewhere."

He didn't elaborate on that much to News OK, simply saying: "I've had a lot of changes in my life. This is another one."

Coburn will be the eighth senator to retire at the end of this session, joining Max Baucus (D-MT), Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), Tom Harkin (D-IA), Mike Johanns (R-NE), Tim Johnson (D-SD), Carl Levin (D-MI) and John Rockefeller (D-WV).

       

The Wire Oscars: The Best Movies We Sort Of (Not Really) Made Happen

Associated Press / The Wire

We could not believe our ears when we heard the Academy Award nominations this morning. "Meryl Streep again? " No Tom Hanks?! But the worst snub of all? Not one member of The Wire staff was nominated for an Oscar despite our extensive backgrounds in movie production.

You may not know this, but we at The Wire are kind of a big deal, Hollywood-connections-wise. We're known to hobnob with the stars and turn down high-paying roles because they don't fit our artistic visions. In fact, most of us have been personally involved in the filming of some of Tinseltown's greatest masterpieces.

But who needs the Academy, right? We're going to announce our own nominations, right here, right now,  Here are the best movies that we personally had a hand in making (or accidentally stumbled on to the filming of in our hometowns.)

We're not interested in anything unverified, so we're picking through the (very, very broad) pool of excellent films we have personally witnessed being filmed. Or heard about being filmed. Or accidentally walked onto the set of. Or been asked to partake in as a featured extra. Basically, if we have witnessed (or know someone who witnessed) in some way, the creation of the film, it's in the running.

Everyone says that just being nominated is an honor, but here at The Wire we're taking that useless sentiment to the next level because there are no nominees at all! Every one one of these films is a winner, plain and simple. Enjoy your fake awards, everyone! 

And The Wire Oscar goes to....

Best Costume Design: Liam Neeson,  A Walk Among the Tombstones

A Walk Among Tombstones is the movie I watched Liam Neeson film across the street from my apartment for two whole days. It's not out yet. The scene I saw them film involved Liam Neeson walking into the front door of an apartment building. Then he walked out of that same apartment building. I watched them film these two scenes, over and over again, for the better part of a day, from my 2nd floor Hell's Kitchen apartment. It was absolutely riveting. Liam Neeson is wearing the cardigan to end all cardigans in this shot, so when you see the movie, look for that. An intense, cardigan-wearing Liam Neeson, walking into an apartment building. - Joe Reid

Best "Comedy":  Son in Law 

When my wife was in middle school in California, a location scout figured that her next-door neighbor's house would be the perfect place to film a movie about how Pauly Shore tricks a young woman's family into thinking he's not a bizarre idiot. My wife's house got the better end of the deal, though: in exchange for allowing the catering set-up on their property, they got to help themselves.   So that was how she spent a week (which she took off school): watching Pauly Shore run around doing his thing, snacking on Hollywood food, and so on. The apex, though, was when she got to be on-screen.    There's one scene, as any fervent Son In Law fan remembers, where Shore and his love interest attend a barn dance. There, in the background, you can see my wife. She's in the picture below, or you can see her at about the 1:15 mark in the movie's trailer. They had to find a particularly short cowboy-type to dance with her; after all, she was 12.  

Otherwise the movie is terrible and you shouldn't watch it. - Philip Bump 

Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy About Kids and Prostitutes: Some Third Grader

When I was in the third grade, we moved from Northridge, Calif. to Huntington Beach, Calif. I didn't have many friends, because I was kind of shy. I was also an ugly kid. My teeth looked like as if they were allergic to my lips. But there was one kid who became my friend instantly. His name was Michael Carter. He was really nice to me, and played soccer with me. I had heard he was an actor.  Then, one day, he just stopped showing up to class.

I would later find out that he was one of the boys in Milk Money, the heartwarming tale of three suburban boys who raised/saved enough money to procure a lady of the night so that they could see her naked. 

That was not my only brush with fame. The girl who played Heidi in that Disney movie and Dylan's little sister in 90210 went to my school too. She wasn't my friend. I was still freaky-looking. —Alex Abad-Santos

Best 1990s Period Piece: You've Got Mail

Growing up in Manhattan, I got to do a lot of really cool things, like wait outside a brownstone on the Upper West Side for hours, hoping to get a glimpse of huge stars who I had never heard of like Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. The stars were filming You've Got Mail just a few blocks away from where I went to middle school, so I joined a (small number) of fans trying to spot the starring actors. I think the scene in question was one where Tom is romantically waiting outside Meg's door, but I'm not entirely sure. I'm not even totally sure that scene happened. But I do remember standing across the street from some men operating high-wattage lights shining into a window, where, presumably Meg Ryan was acting inside, and some men were pointing cameras at Tom Hanks, I think, who was standing outside the steps.

The nice thing about You've Got Mail, for me, is that it actually does capture the neighborhood I grew up in, so it will always hold a special place in my heart. I also later worked for AOL, so there's that. - Danielle Wiener-Bronner  

Best Non-Visible Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, The Ballad of Jack and Rose 

Shortly after Daniel Day-Lewis emerged from his self-imposed exile to star in Gangs of New York and before he won another Best Actor for There Will Be Blood, Mr. Day-Lewis starred in a small 2005 indie drama that literally no one saw. This movie, The Ballad of Jack and Rose, despite having a cast that today would instantly make movie bloggers drool (Jason Lee, Jena Malone, Catherine Keener, and a pre-Blood Paul Dano), was filmed around the corner from my house. 

This is significant because I grew up in Prince Edward Island, Canada, a small province — the smallest province, actually — on the east coast, where movies are not filmed. (Think of a place slightly bigger than Rhode Island, but smaller than Delaware.) Especially movies starring all-time greats like Daniel Day-Motherflipping-Lewis. Hey, 2005, it was a weird time. But the producers thought they found the perfect place in my sleepy Charlottetown neighborhood — a dark, spooky old-timey Victorian house with long porches and a lawn filled with birch trees. I'm fairly certain it was the house that had the best Halloween decorations every year and gave out full chocolate bars. It was a perfectly fine house.    They held open auditions for locals to work as extras in the movie. You could meet Oscar winner Daniel Day-Lewis! Or Jason Lee, who starred in Kevin Smith movies and also a few skateboarding movies, and who, at 15 years old, was why I auditioned. That guy who fish-hooked people in that bad Scorcese movie? Blech. At the time I was on the tail end of my lucrative acting career, which included many local musical theater productions and one full season on and educational Canadian kids television show. I was a star. I was a sure thing.   I did not get to work as an extra near Jason Lee, or Daniel Day-Lewis. We did watch from my best friend's driveway to see if we could see anybody famous. We never did, of course, but I think one of my friends saw Jason Lee downtown. No one ever saw Daniel Day-Lewis. He probably wanted it that way. - Connor Simpson Best Singer Playing an Actor: Justin Timberlake, Runner, Runner

Last year at Princeton, I got the chance to watch Justin Timberlake play the most convincing 30-year-old college student when Runner, Runner was filmed on campus. The early scenes of the movie were filmed the day winter break started, and a few of us were still around, so we poked our heads into the area. The scene was pretty straightforward, as Timberlake and Ben Schwartz walked up the street right along campus, talking about poker playing or Ben Affleck or something. I don't know, I never saw the movie. Sometime during the two hours it took to film the scene, I snuck into the corner of the university store and got a clear line of view at the actors through the glass windows.

A shot of Justin Timberlake looking directly at me in Princeton for 'Runner, Runner' pic.twitter.com/H3K3NeAs

— Eric Levenson (@ejleven) December 14, 2012

Yeah, we totes made eye contact. I felt it. Here's the door as seen in the movie (or the trailer at least), just to the left and behind Schwartz's big head.

There's a possibility that you can see me through the window from another camera angle, but, again, I haven't seen it so I don't know. The movie didn't do so hot, and The Wire's former entertainment guru Richard Lawson didn't think Timberlake was much of an actor, but I was there. I saw what I saw. True genius. Give that man a (Wire) Oscar. - Eric Levenson

Best Sentimental Drama: Charlie's War

When my mom was selling her house in the country outside Nashville, one day a guy in a Hawaiian shirt and sunglasses drove up and asked if she would consider letting it be used as a movie set. My mom assumed it was a porn, but in fact, it was Charlie's War (not Charlie Wilson's War). It's kind of a Fried Green Tomatoes-style thing where women come together in the bonds of sisterhood and kill a pedophile and hide his body. The cast includes Olympia Dukakis, Lynn Redgrave, and Oprah's dad. It's not very good.

But Charlie's War was the biggest thing in our small town that year, so neighbors were constantly scheming to get on set. One day my mom had been away from the house for several hours, and when she returned, one of the movie people said, "We met your mother today!" Which slightly creeped out my mom, because my grandmother had been dead for 10 years. It was not a ghost, just a crazy local. - Elspeth Reeve 

Best Short Film: Music Video for "Flags on the Christmas Tree," by Leeland Martin

Once you get known as someone who doesn't freak out over entertainment people, they come back to you again and again. So after Charlie's War, our house was used for a few music videos. "Flags on the Christmas Tree" is the most 2003-ish song ever made. It's a country song about loving the troops at Christmas made right in the middle of Iraq War mania. ("Well I never had to fight for my country, like my grandpa so bravely did / But I respect the things that he taught me, and I'll pass them on to my kids.") You can see some of my relatives in the sepia-toned photos of military heroes that decorate the house.  - Elspeth Reeve 

Best Miserably Dated Nineties Campus Satire: PCU

Okay, I'm cheating: I didn't see this movie being filmed. I was only three at the time, anyway, and far more concerned with 101 Dalmatians and Lady & the Tramp.

I did, though, later end up attending Wesleyan University, where the film's writers had gone and where they found direct inspiration for their goofily dated depiction of PC culture and campus slacktivism gone horribly awry. To most viewers it's a forgotten Animal House send-off most notable for the young Jeremy Piven it stars, but to Wesleyan students, it's like the long-tail Buzzfeed list of nineties cinema: You're totally in on the joke, even if you know it's a cheap and insular one.   So as a freshman, I was thrilled to find myself living in the dorm that pops up in the movie's opening sequence (the rest of the film was filmed in Toronto, probably for money reasons), and I was curious to find how the film resonated on campus 15 years later. (Turns out no one really gets the joke when you refer to a frat as "The Pit" or ask where the Bisexual Asian Studies Building is.) Digging through newspaper archives, I did learn that a 1994 screening of the film on campus resulted in somewhat of a riot, and when I interviewed a former president of the college, he told me that he told the filmmakers in person that their movie sucked.   If you're out there, Adam Leff and Zak Penn, I promise not to insult your masterpiece. Please say there's a 20th anniversary deluxe DVD set in the works? - Zach Schonfeld Best Use of a Season in a Title: Autumn in New York     One day, many years ago, I was walking through Central Park in fall, when off in the distance I spotted an attractive couple that looked suspiciously like Richard Gere and Winona Ryder. Then I realized it was Richard Gere and and Winona Ryder. They were a few hundred yards away and a few people were following them around with a camera. Excited at my first opportunity to see a real life Hollywood magic in person, I stopped and watched the proceedings. Then a guy wearing a headset stepped out from behind a tree and told me I couldn't stand there. I never saw the movie. -Dashiell Bennett
       

EGOT Alert: What a 'Frozen' Win in Best Song Really Means

It's hardly a secret that we at The Wire are fans of Frozen and its centerpiece song "Let It Go," but now there's another reason it must win: If it does, songwriter Bobby Lopez completes his EGOT. History being made in front of your eyes!

EGOT, for those of you who didn't religiously watch 30 Rock, stands for Emmy Grammy Oscar Tony, and since becoming an acronym, it's come to symbolize a kind of holy-grail milestone for show-business awards. As Hillary Busis points out at Entertainment Weekly, Lopez already has Tonys for Avenue Q and The Book Mormon, and he picked up a Grammy for the soundtrack of the latter show. He has a pair of Daytime Emmys for his work on Wonder Pets, a kids show. Now, before you start doubting the validity of that EGOT given the fact that Lopez has only one Daytime Emmys, note the wise words of Whoopi Goldberg on 30 Rock: "It still counts. Girl's got to eat." 

In the name of all things good, not to mention in the name of meaningless accomplishments, please let "Let It Go" win the Oscar. (Also, please let Idina Menzel sing it at the ceremony, but that's another matter entirely. According to Christopher Rosen of the Huffington Post that matter hasn't yet been settled.) Luckily, it seems like there's a pretty good chance the song could take home the prize. No offense to "Alone Yet Not Alone," but the biggest competition for "Let It Go" probably comes from U2's Golden Globe winner "Ordinary Love" from Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.  

 

       

Mitch McConnell Wants to Block a Climate Rule that Doesn't Exist So He Can Stay Senator

Associated Press

Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, who is running in a surprisingly close race for reelection this year, would like to overturn an EPA regulation on greenhouse gasses, despite that regulation not actually existing yet.

In his second inaugural address last January, President Obama announced a new focus on climate change in his second term, a threat that he acted on in June by announcing new regulations reducing emissions from coal-burning power plants. Coal-burning power plants are the main contributor to carbon dioxide emissions, and with carbon emissions increasing in 2013 after years of decline, the long-delayed — and court-mandated — restrictions are well overdue.

McConnell hates the idea of those restrictions. Most Republicans do, not being particularly motivated by concerns over climate change and not being particularly fond of new government rules. But McConnell really hates the idea of them, because McConnell represents Kentucky and Kentucky is an enthusiastic coal-producing state. (In 2012, it had the third-most coal production of any state.) So McConnell will do whatever he can to block this EPA regulation, up-to-and-including invoking the little-used Congressional Review Act, a tool introduced by Republicans in the Gingrich/Contract With America era that gave Congress the ability to reject executive branch regulations.

The Hill reports that McConnell, speaking from the Senate floor on Thursday, announced his plan. "I — along with about 40 Republican co-sponsors, including my friend and fellow Kentuckian Rand Paul — intend to file a resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act to ensure a vote to stop this devastating rule," he said.

But, as The Wire reported last week, that rule doesn't exist. The EPA's process for developing new regulations is an intentionally slow and labor-intensive one, involving the introduction of a proposal, a period for feedback, the finalization of the rule, and analysis by the White House. We're at step one in the process. The point of the CRA is to block a regulation at the last step. As The Hill says, "normally a rule must be finalized for a congressional review to be sought." But, "an aide to McConnell said a vote can happen."

Well, yeah, "a vote" can happen, such as on a "resolution of disapproval." But how do you "ensure a vote to stop" a rule when there isn't a rule? For example, what if the final EPA rule, after feedback and so on, mandates for some reason that power plants emit more carbon dioxide? Does that get blocked?

The problem McConnell's facing is precisely that the EPA process is slow — certainly too slow for his primary battle against conservative Matt Bevin and almost certainly too slow for his likely November fight against Alison Lundergan Grimes. McConnell needs to say that he "used the Congressional Review Act to oppose Obama's war on coal" (or whatever) right now. He doesn't have time to wait for the EPA to be deliberative and hear from stakeholders.

Also, the rule probably wouldn't pass in the Senate, if it came to a vote. It's a show announcement for a show vote for a campaign that's just getting underway. Ain't politics grand?

       

Meet the Early Favorite for Most Heartwarming Story of the Winter Olympics

The Barnes sisters at the 2006 Winter Games, the only Olympics where they both competed. (AP)

Veteran Olympic watchers know that the Games are as much about the inspiring, tear-jerking stories of the athletes and their struggles, as they are about the competition themselves. So as the world gears up for the start of the Sochi Olympics, it's going to be tough to top the tale of selfless Barnes sisters of the biathlon for emotional impact.

Tracy Barnes, 31, made the U.S. Olympic Biathlon team last weekend after the final run of qualifying events ended. Tracy just happens to have a twin sister, Lanny, who is also a biathlete and a two-time Olympian herself. But Lanny had fallen ill and missed three of four races that weekend. So when the point rankings were worked out, it seemed Tracy, who narrowly missed qualifying for the 2010 games, would be booking her ticket to Russia and Lanny would cheer for her from the sidelines. 

Instead, Tracy voluntarily withdrew from the team, so that her twin sister could go in her place.

The sisters went for a hike on the mountain after the weekend's final race, and that's when Tracy broke the news to Lanny, her younger sister by five minutes, and they both cried, obviously. We did too while researching the story. As so will millions of Americans when they see the montage about them on NBC in a couple of weeks. The sisters informed family members and teammates about their decision, which has suddenly made the U.S. Olympic Biathlon team unusually popular. (Sorry, but it's not exactly America's strongest sport.)

"If you care enough about a person you will make any sacrifice for them. Even if it means giving up your dreams so that they can realize theirs," said Tracy, who previously competed for the U.S. team at the 2006 Olympics.

The Barnes sister headed to Sochi seems grateful for her twin's astonishing act of kindness. “It’s not every day that you are given a second chance like this,” Lanny told U.S. Biathlon's official website. “I thought my chance at the Olympics was over, but now I’ve got a second chance and will do everything I can to bring honor to her and our country in Russia.” NBC's dedicated Sochi research team won't have to look far for a story that will fill eyes with tears and make hearts swell three sizes too big. 

       

NSA on Text Messages: 'A Goldmine to Exploit'

NSA/ The Guardian

If you were curious: Yes, the National Security Agency is collecting and filtering text messages to the tune of 194 million a day. It's a collection of data that one agency slide, obtained by The Guardian from leaker Edward Snowden, called "a goldmine to exploit."

The Guardian details the NSA's text message collection infrastructure in a new report, including its massive scale. The slide at right shows how much data it and its British partners at the GCHQ are able to reel in.

The agencies collect 194 million messages a day. They include 76,000 geocoordinates for users, thanks to people seeking directions or setting up meetings. The agencies track 1.6 million border crossings and 5,000-plus occurrences in which someone is traveling. They're able to link hundreds of thousands of financial transactions. They collect over 5 million missed call alerts, which then get pushed into the "contact-chaining" system, building out the NSA's ad hoc social network.

The NSA isn't allowed to collect this information on Americans, and the documents don't indicate that the agency does. Everyone else in the world, not protected (however effectively) by the Fourth Amendment, is fair game — and as of 2011, the NSA nots in one slide, 77 percent of the world's population was using text communications.

Text messages were an inevitable target for the agency, of course, offering the informal speed of a voice communication but much simpler content filtering by automated systems. If you don't believe us, take it from the NSA. In one slide, it uses a smiley face to indicate how convenient it is that text messages link phone numbers to readable content.

These, the agency suggests, are "gems" that it otherwise wouldn't be able to access. Or, if you will, a goldmine.

       

Apple Will Pay Back Parents Who Got Outsmarted by Their More Phone-Savvy Children

Don't let that innocent face fool you.  (AP PHOTO/RICH PEDRONCELLI)

Apple has agreed to pay a $32.5 billion million fine in response to a complaint from the Federal Trade Commission, which has demanded the tech giant repay parents for the cost of apps purchased by their children without approval. Apparently, that happens a lot.

The FTC ruled that Apple is responsible for money spent by children who, possibly unwittingly, trick their parents into approving in-app game purchases by asking them to fill in their password when prompted. When kids show their parents the password prompt, a message explaining that entering the password will finalize the purchase doesn't appear, so parents are often not aware of the implications of entering their passwords. 

Password entry also gives kids an extra 15 minutes of free shopping time, making the password a kind of time-limited blank check for the savvy child. And some kids spent a lot of money on games, according to the Washington Post: 

Over the winter break from school, 8-year-old Madison worked to dress up her simple mushroom home on the iPhone game Smurfs' Village. In doing so, she also amassed a $1,400 bill from Apple.... Arlington second-grader Leyla Ulku figured out her parents' password and recently racked up a $150 charge from buying buckets of stars and snowflakes to build a safari out of sea turtles and giraffes on Tap Zoo.

Parents argue that in-app downloads are misleading to children, most of whom are used to paying for items with fake money online, and that they are inappropriately priced. Some game items are surprisingly expensive — like a $99 wagon of Smurfberries, which doesn't really seem like the type of purchase a consenting adult would make. 

The FTC also cited some exorbitant purchases:

In its complaint, the FTC notes that Apple received at least tens of thousands of complaints about unauthorized in-app purchases by children. One consumer reported that her daughter had spent $2,600 in the app “Tap Pet Hotel,” and other consumers reported unauthorized purchases by children totaling more than $500 in the apps “Dragon Story” and “Tiny Zoo Friends.” According to the complaint, consumers have reported millions of dollars in unauthorized charges to Apple.

In addition to reimbursing parents, Apple will have to "modify its billing practices to ensure that Apple obtains consumers’ express, informed consent prior to billing them for in-app charges, and that if the company gets consumers’ consent for future charges, consumers must have the option to withdraw their consent at any time." FTC chairwoman Edith Ramirez called the settlement a triumph, saying:

This settlement is a victory for consumers harmed by Apple’s unfair billing, and a signal to the business community: whether you’re doing business in the mobile arena or the mall down the street, fundamental consumer protections apply... You cannot charge consumers for purchases they did not authorize.

Apple, for its part, issued a rather beaten-down (but non-apologetic) response, saying they'd prefer to settle instead of engaging in a "long legal fight."According to the FTC, the Apple settlement is a part of a larger consumer safety initiative.  

Correction: An earlier version of this post mistakenly cited a $32.5 billion fine for Apple. The correct figure is $32.5 million.