“The European Union’s consumer chief soft-pedalled her views on Apple Inc. on Tuesday, backing off the line that its iTunes online music store must become more compatible with other formats,” Reuters reports.
Reuters reports, “Meglena Kuneva told a news conference there was no reason to talk about legal action against the U.S. computer and technology company and that she merely wanted to raise questions. ‘I would like, really, to start this debate. What is best to develop this market and to have more consumers enjoying this really very important, very modern way of downloading and enjoying the music?’ she said of Apple’s iTunes.”
Reuters reports, “In this week’s edition of the German magazine Focus, Kuneva had been quoted as saying: ‘Do you think it’s fine that a CD plays in all CD players but that an iTunes song only plays in an iPod? I don’t. Something has to change.'”
“Kuneva said she worked closely with Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes, whose department has found no reason to pursue Apple. Kroes’ department has said there were no problems with Apple’s use of digital rights technology,” Reuters reports.
Full article here.
Well now, it looks like something changed alright. Kuneva seems to have quickly learned the valuable lesson to think before you crack your yap lest the U.S. Undersecretary of Commerce for Technology and others excoriate you for your ignorant ramblings.
Related articles:
U.S. Undersecretary of Commerce for Technology says EU ‘rhetoric’ against Apple is confusing – March 13, 2007
EU Commish on Apple’s iTunes + FairPlay DRM: ‘Something has to change’ – March 12, 2007
Anti-DRM activists rap Steve Jobs; Group petitions Apple CEO to remove FairPlay DRM software – March 10, 2007
Is DRM doomed? – March 09, 2007
How Apple’s FairPlay DRM works – February 26, 2007
Windows Vista’s DRM is bad news – February 14, 2007
Monster Cable announces full support of Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ call for DRM-free music – February 13, 2007
Recording Industry Association of America wants their DRM, calls for Apple to license FairPlay – February 08, 2007
Warner’s Middlebronfman: Jobs’ DRM-free music call ‘without logic and merit, we’ll not abandon DRM’ – February 08, 2007
Dvorak: Apple CEO Steve Jobs is dead right about DRM – February 07, 2007
Apple’s Jobs jolts music industry; Zune exec calls Jobs’ call for DRM-free music ‘irresponsible’ – February 07, 2007
Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ posts rare open letter: ‘Thoughts on Music’ – calls for DRM-free music – February 06, 2007
Norwegian Ombudsman: Apple’s FairPlay DRM is illegal in Norway – January 24, 2007
Major music labels ponder DRM-free future – January 23, 2007
“Theses aren’t the droids you’re looking for.”
ok, does all those “Play fer Sure” crapboxes contain tunes that will play on the iPod ??
Why isnt the EU looking into that one ?
I smell a scandal brewing !
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mb they should look at real nd ms zune store
pretty sure u cant play them on anything else
Personally I think this gaffe has turned out very favourably for Apple. The EU competition commissioner is now on record stating that they have “no issue” with Apple’s DRM. You will now see the local consumer offices in places like Germany back off, as any attempted enforcement action can be immediately appealed to the EU, who have already said that they don’t see an issue. Only leaves Norway, and Apple probably wouldn’t lose sleep over shutting down that store.
Zune ain’t in Europe yet, so they could care less… But pitty them when – and if – it does ever arrive….
> Is that an STD on her face? <– No, just the aftereffects of a <strike>workover</strike> conference with Microsoft.
She is a bit of a hottie, and yes, I would.
Ya know, barista’s got a point.
When my brother an I were young bucks, we bought a porche924 from the junk yard with no tranny (no offense intended Crissyone), and no engine. We cut out the wheel wells, modified the frame, and dropped a 327 chevy in it with some no name transmission we got outta our dad’s wrecked impalla. We decided to forgo a muffler because we couldn’t get any exhause to fit right. Totally fun, couldn’t keep the back tires from spinning and boy did we have a blast. I think we ended up crashing it about a week later, maybe two.
After listening to barista, I’m thinking I didn’t do my due diligence and sue porche, chevy, and the guy who towed the “boomer” back to the house. It should have been interoperable I tell ya!
So just to be clear then, all of you are perfectly happy with DRM and Steve Jobs was wrong when he said the market would be better without it.
I’m just checking because you can’t seem to make up your collective mind, although given that you all seem to be (not so) latent misogynists with an emotional age of about twelve (how unusual, right-wingers who hate women, who’d have thunk it), I’m not certain that accounts for much.
BTW, Jim – it’s spelt Porsche, it’s not difficult. And your analogy won’t cut it in ten years time when virtual digital music sales will outweigh physical to a great extent. If you accept that will be a reality in a decade, why wait to eliminate the middle “burn/re-rip” stage. The other “virtual” music networks – no matter whether they work with iPod/iTunes – have largely done this: I have customers who have already made significant purchases from iTS prior to realising their need for a Sonos or Roku set-up.
Maybe I should send them to you so you can drip-feed your condescending vitriol to them for not being blessed with the gift of foresight (as opposed to the gift of the literacy). That’ll endear them to the open-mindedness of the Macintosh community.
BTW, guess what they’re doing now? Not buying from iTS, but instead using barely legal services like AllOfMp3 or totally illegal sources. If you think that benefits the market, you’re an even bigger idiot than your post suggests.
Still, as you’ve all made clear, DRM is cool – I’ve taken a note of the names and your future contributions will be checked for consistency.
@Stephen – Yo Barista:
What distortion when burned to a CD? Huh? A store-bought CD is higher sound quality than an iTunes download. If you burn an iTunes DL to a CD it should be the same as what it came from the store… no loss in quality. Just not as good as the store-bought CD is.
Wow, I see one person being a lot more condescending here than anyone else, The Barista.
Jobs would get rid of the DRM. If the record companies would let him. Apple has made the DRM as palatable as they can under the circumstances. If the record companies would agree it can go away, it would. End of story. This isn’t a complicated issue.
Magic Word: Then. Maybe then we could all just get along.
Oh, and “The Barista”, your original post above should end in an appropriate form of punctuation. Perhaps you meant to use a period or a question mark?
It’s not difficult.
Dick.
Many record companies are already willingly selling DRM-free tracks through online music retailers such as eMusic and AmieStreet. If Jobs and Apple were truly in favor of selling DRM-free music they would offer tracks from the DRM-free friendly labels without FairPlay.
wow. just wow.
personally, i wish they didn’t back down, maybe the RIAA would have to back off Apple and they could sell tunes DRM free and cut their overhead and gain new buyers.
but it is possible that it wouldn’t work this way and this is good news.
….having said that, i am ashamed of the huge amount of sexist comments here. maybe you dislike what she said, maybe she is wrong, maybe it was a mistake, hell, maybe you even hate her, but when you make ignorant sexist remarks all you do is insult half of the entire race while implying the ignorance of the other half.
grow up a little.
magic word? “country” as in sometimes i am ashamed to live in mine….
I don’t like DRM, but my personal feelings are not the main issue. I would rather have easy to use formats, but to have government make the decision as to how it’s going to be implemented is a slippery slope. This line of thinking is what leads to major problems as one side decides to “help” others get what they want.
If I want music from iTMS, I’ll get it. If not… Let me be smart or stupid. You can’t save people from themselves.
@viking
no harm done? I dont agree. how many media outlets reported her initial views? how many reported her backdown? how many people read the first and not the second?
anyone appointed to a senior position in government is expected to behave responsibly. behaving responsibly includes doing your homework before you open your mouth…
she deserves a slap on the wrist at the very least…
ps: i wonder if the BBC reported both the original and re-interpreted viewpoints?
@ @me
You may have a good point. There may be another reason. Time will tell. Will certainly be interesting to see how this all pans out. I do believe that if the major labels would budge, we’d have DRM- free music though.
So the government’s anti-trust ruling against Microsoft on how it “implemented” Internet Explorer into Windows was wrong as well?
I don’t know when that photograph was taken, but if that’s the best she can do… I REALLY feel sorry for her husband.
Its really simple, all these countrys with a problem with iTunes,
Close the iTune store in those countrys, then those people will see how well their politicians are looking out for their best interest
F-ckin’ Europeans. They’re worse than the San Franciscans.
I’d bang her!
I’m sorry, she still looks like she has a stick up her rump!
Thought it was obvious, the reason for thexpression on her face and why she was pissed of is that she …bought a Zune
ID TIE ‘ER UP, ATTACH ELECTRODES TO VARIOUS BODY PARTS, TURN UP THE JUICE AND WALK OUT OF THE ROOM.