The Netherlands Joins European Uprising Against iTunes

Authored by Jay Baage on January 26, 2007 - 10:13am.

Amsterdam - The Netherlands has joined Scandinavian led action against Apple's digital rights management lock on its iPod device and iTunes software. This means that Apple is coming under increasing pressure from consumer rights advocates in EU nations (including Germany, France, Sweden, Norway and Finland), all who want to force the company to unlock its iTunes software so it can be used with other MP3 players.

In the Netherlands, iTunes dominates the internet download market with a 50 per cent share. The Dutch Consumer Ombudsman Ewald van Kouwen agrees with the ruling of the Norwegian Consumer Ombudsman Bjørn Erik Thon, who on Wednesday said that iTunes violates his country's consumer law. The Dutch Ombudsman lodged a complaint not only with the newly formed Dutch Consumer Authority (ConsumentenAutoriteit), which will act as the enforcer of 15 European consumer protection directives, but also with the Dutch anti-trust agency.

"What we want from Apple is that they remove the limitations that prevent you from playing a song you download from iTunes on any player other than an iPod," he said.

"When you buy a music CD it doesn't play only on players made by Panasonic. People who download a song from iTunes shouldn't be bound to an iPod for the rest of their lives."

Apple has so far only responded to these actions by an official statement earlier this week, Apple said it is aware of the concerns from several agencies in Europe and looking forward to resolving these issues as quickly as possible.

Related Links:
http://www.consumentenautoriteit.nl (Dutch Consumer Authority)
Netherlands joins European rebellion against Apple's rules (AP)
Dutch Consumer Chief puts Apple through the Mill (The Register)