iTunes Outlawed By Hords Of Nords

Norwegian officials have decided that Apples online music store, Itunes, is in violation of Norwegian law. Media downloaded from the Itunes store is not compatible with non-Apple devices due to the ‘Fairplay’ DRM embedded into each file offered by the giant online store. This sort of ruling could very well spark a great debate over all DRM and it’s purpose in the rest of Europe and the world over.

I, for one, believe the ultimate evil behind this sort of DRM tom foolery is that Apples loyal customers are not aware of the money they are throwing away. The average Tom, Dick, and Harry aren’t aware that the thousands of songs, e-books, and television shows that they’ve downloaded from Itunes will not work when they decide to toss their Ipods and Iphones in favor of something else.

It is also worth noting how less obtrusive Microsoft was when they fought the European Union for the right to bundle Internet Explorer with Windows XP throughout Europe, AND LOST. For Apple to box in it’s customers with this proprietary mindset is the #1 reason I don’t own an Ipod, and I will never use Itunes.

To add fuel to Apples firestorm, Sweden, Finland, France, and Germany are all reported to be investigating Itunes legality pertaining to each countries consumer protection laws. I say it’s about time. Norway has an excellent point and I find it very hard to imagine Apple squeezing it’s way out of this one, considering that the RIAA is gonna keep the pressure on for full-on DRM on all of Itunes content.