Tuesday, March 21, 2006

French government votes to force Apple to open up iTunes to other digital music players

The French government has voted to force Apple to open up iTunes to rival digital music players as we anticipated a few days ago.

This is a major blow to Apple. They have 40% of the French market, which is lower than in most countries they operate in. The legislation now goes to the upper house - but looks set to get passed.

Apple has not commented yet, but we are challenged to see how they can continue to operate in France. The precedent could be too dangerous for them in other countries. If they do back out - then what happens to all the French iTunes users? Have the French governement thought about that?!

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