European Countries Up Pressure On iTunes, FairPlay

Norway's Consumer Ombudsman has declared that Apple's Fairplay digital rights management system used in Apple's iTunes and iPod is illegal, according to a report at out-law.com.

While the declaration is not legally binding, pressure is increasing on iTunes in Europe with consumer groups in Germany and France recently joining Norway's action against Apple. France has previously pushed legislation aimed at opening up closed DRM systems such as Apple's Fairplay. Apple originally called that law "state-sponsored piracy." Other countries reported to be involved in pressuring Apple are Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and the U.K.

The common goal of the complaints seems to be around the desire for consumers to be able to purchase music or videos from the iTunes store and use it on any device, not just Apple's. Apple has yet to license FairPlay, although some companies have taken cracks at reverse-engineering FairPlay.

Background Information: Original Norwegian Complaint