European consumer groups demand iTunes changes, interoperability

Four European consumer groups have joined forces to secure concessions from …

Earlier this week, we reported that several European consumer advocates had joined forces against iTunes in an attempt to take a bite out of Apple's music policies. But what exactly do they want, and when do they want it? Let's take a closer look.

The coalition is made up of the official Consumer Ombudsmen from Finland and Norway, along with two private consumer organizations, UFC Que Choisir (France) and Verbraucherzentrale (Germany). The groups have now formed a united front for negotiating with iTunes. In the past, iTunes representatives negotiated separately with governments and consumer groups that criticized them, resulting in different concessions all around. This time, the coalition wants to use their combined power to achieve some uniform changes.

The coalition has four demands, and interoperability is at the top of the list. "Interoperability and more flexibility in using downloaded content is key for the further development of the legal music download market," said Patrick von Braunmühl of Verbraucherzentrale. The group wants consumers to be able to play iTunes music on any portable player, but this presents an obvious problem: DRM.

The group offers three solutions. Apple can renegotiate its contracts with music labels in order to sell tracks without DRM (though we have argued in the past that Apple doesn't want to ditch FairPlay); it can start licensing FairPlay to others; or it can push for the development of a common DRM scheme that would work with all players. None of these are likely to appeal to Apple, though, as it would probably be forced to make the same changes around the world.

The coalition is also upset about a provision in the iTunes license which says that Apple can unilaterally alter the terms of use, and they want Apple to remove this clause from the license.

The group's third request is a change in the liability provisions. Currently, Apple claims that it has no liability, but the consumer groups want Apple to take responsibility for content sold through iTunes. If a song download turns out to trash your computer (unlikely in the extreme, of course), consumers should be able to collect damages from Apple, according to the coalition.

Finally, the groups want to make sure that any disputes with iTunes are resolved according to the laws of the country where the dispute arises. Currently, iTunes Europe is based in Luxembourg, and its terms of service say that all users agree to be bound by English law. This doesn't go down so well with consumer groups in other countries. The coalition said in a statement, "Consumers entering into a contract with iTunes should be able to rely on the consumer protection rules according to the law of the country in which they live."

Apple could easily pick up and leave Norway—a comparatively small market—but France and Germany are another matter entirely. Given the amount of resources Apple has dedicated to building its music ecosystem, the company will fight tooth and nail on the DRM issue. The iPod maker may be willing to offer concessions on licensing, legal resources, and changing the terms of use after purchases, especially if doing so would convince European regulatory agencies to relent on the DRM issue.

When are all these things supposed to happen? It's not clear, although the group does say that they hope to see "substantial progress" on interoperability by September 2007. Don't hold your breath.

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