Antitrust EU Official Questions Apple iTunes-iPod Competition Concerns

It is no secret that Apple has faced criticism in Europe regarding the close ties between its music player and content distribution platform, and the company has been asked repeatedly to take steps to ensure better compatibility between its offerings and those of rivals.

Earlier this month, before clarifying she was not suggesting legal action should be taken, European Consumer Affairs Commissioner, Meglena Kuneva, raised the compatibility issue again. In January, Norway announced that Apple has until October 1 to liberalize its music download system, or face legal action, and it is not the only country that feels this way. Consumer rights organizations from Germany, France, Finland and Norway have all agreed to campaign jointly against the closed iTunes – iPod system.

However, on Tuesday, at an antitrust conference in Munich, Germany, top European Commission official Philip Lowe raised questions regarding the need for competition authorities to regulate Apple. "Before we jump in to regulate competition on the market it is worth asking whether competition is actually harmed."

While at the time the first such complaints against Apple started surfacing, the Cupertino Company was amongst the few that offered an integrated experience between music player and content. However, since then, the business model has changed significantly and today, nearly all players and services are tied together in some manner. While Apple undoubtedly still has the lead in the market, the competition is doing the same thing, a prominent example being Microsoft with its Zune.

"Is there not vigorous competition between different bundles of mp3 players and music libraries?," said Lowe, the second-highest competition official in the EU. If Apple is ever forced to sever the ties between content platform and device, every other company will be forced to do the same.

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