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EU Launches Antitrust Probe Into iTunes
Macthorpe writes "ABC News is reporting that the EU has started an antitrust probe into the way that Apple sells music on iTunes. As you can only purchase from the store of the country where your credit or debit card is registered, the price differences and availability differences between iTunes stores for different EU countries constitute a violation of EU competition laws which forbid territorial sales restrictions.'Apple spokesman Steve Dowling said Monday the company wanted to operate a single store for all of Europe, but music labels and publishers said there were limits to the rights that could they could grant to Apple. "We don't believe Apple did anything to violate EU law," he said. "We will continue to work with the EU to resolve this matter."'"
How is this hard to understand? If I want to buy music in the EU then Company A can't sell it to france for say 99p and then prohibit me from buying from their french store forcing me to buy it in the UK one at £1.29. I can goto france and buy a DVD bring it home and play it on my UK DVD player. Itunes store activily stops me from buying from the French store, its price fixing. Apple can talk about how the music store won't let them, well sorry thats the local law if you cant obey it then you shouldn't be doing it. The EU simply expects Apple to let me use the french store and the frenchies use the UK store, it doesn't expect EU members to be able to access non eu member stores. So I still won't be able to use the USA store, I don't know about you but I think price fixing is bad, this is deliberate price fixing "because the record company's are forcing us" if thats the case I'd expect a anti trust case against the record companies next.