Last month, EU consumer commissioner Meglena Kuneva hit out at Apple’s bundling of its iPod and its iTunes online music store. But the Statement of Objections does not deal with Apple’s use of its proprietary Digital Rights Management software to control usage rights for downloads from the iTunes online store.Įuropean consumer groups, regulators and legislators have already made Apple the biggest target of their efforts to open the digital music market so that consumers can play songs from online sites on any portable music device. The announcement came just a day after music giant EMI said it would offer songs from its vast stable of artists for download without copy protection as part of a deal with Apple. from logging on to the French and German sites to get a cheaper deal. customers 20% more than French and German shoppers and barred customers in the U.K. Which? had complained to the British regulator - the Office of Fair Trading - in September 2004, saying that iTunes charged U.K. government referred to the commission a complaint by the British consumer group Which? The investigation comes two years after the U.K. Only after having heard the company’s defense can the EC make a final decision, which may be accompanied by fines of up to 10% of a company’s worldwide annual profits. The companies have two months to respond in writing to the commission, or can request an audience to defend themselves verbally. Conversely, at current exchange rates, that works out at 67 pence per song in the Euro-zone or €1.17 in the U.K. For the 13 EU countries in the Euro-zone, the price per song is €0.99 ($1.32), but in the U.K. For example, in order to buy a music download from the iTunes’ Belgian online store, a consumer must use a credit card issued by a bank with an address in Belgium. The statement points out that iTunes verifies consumers’ country of residence through their credit card details. The commission alleges in the Statement of Objections that these agreements violate the EC Treaty’s rules prohibiting restrictive business practices.” “Consumers are thus restricted in their choice of where to buy music, and consequently what music is available, and at what price. “Consumers can only buy music from the iTunes’ online store in their country of residence,” the EC said. EU competition commissioner Neelie Kroes is thought to see this as a possible violation of the EU’s rules against restrictive business practices. Customers can buy songs only in the country where their credit card is registered. The statement focuses on the agreements between each record label and Apple that allegedly restrict music sales.Įuropean consumers are able to download music from the iTunes site only in their country of residence, and prices differ from country to country within the 27-nation EU.
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