Roy Schestowitz wrote:
> France rolls over on iTunes DRM-busting law
>
> ,----[ Quote ]
> | France has given the thumbs-up to the defanged version of a controversial
> | law that would have forced Apple Computer to open up its iTunes digital
> | rights management to players other than its iPod.
> `----
>
> http://news.com.com/2100-1027_3-6087321.html?part=rss&tag=6087321&subj=news
This one's a real sad story. The law as originally envisioned would
have struck a blow for the ordinary user - something that would have
been typical of the French. But a mixture of fear and love for big
business put paid to that.
It's still not over though. As the article says:
"The bill must still win approval from both houses of the French
parliament. The first vote on it is expected next week."
And a bunch of French members of parliament are pissed as hell. Some
wrote an open letter of protest, others refused to have anything to do
with the defanged bill on principle. It'd be nice if they could
mobilise a big enough vote to scupper the bill and force it to be
either rewritten properly or abandoned.
I get the impression that the French surrender was partly due to Apple
threatening to cease trading in France. They should have called
Apple's bluff. And the European Union could have told them "If you
withdraw from France you will be barred from the whole European common
market".
iPods. Hah! Screw 'em.
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