The European Union has fired a warning shot at Apple this month, alleging that the company's current digital rights management is overly restrictive. 'Do you think it's fair that a CD plays in all CD players, but that an iTunes song only plays on an iPod?" Meglena Kuneva, European Commissioner for consumers, told a German magazine. "I don't. Something has to change.' Kuneva is set to lead a review of the eight basic laws that govern cross-border consumer rights.
Pressure on Apple over the bundling of iPod and content from the iTunesonline music store has been building recently, with consumer rightsorganisations from Germany, France, Finland and Norway joining forces.The argument is that Apple's DRM technology limits consumers' free useof music they have paid for on iTunes, such as transferring it to anon-iPod MP3 player. Apple could not be reached for comment.
