EU Commissioner slams closed music ecosystems

Nonu writes: EU Commissioner for Consumer Protection Meglena Kuneva has come out against DRM lock-ins like Apple's iPod-iTunes combo. Kuneva said she believes the tie-in that keeps music bought from the iTunes Store from playing on MP3 players other than the iPod was unreasonable. '"Do you find it reasonable that a CD will play in all CD players, but an iTunes song will only play on an iPod?" asked Kuneva. "It doesn't to me. Something must change."' The EU is in the midst of an effort to harmonize its consumer protection laws, and long with the question of DRM tie-ins, it is also looking at mandating "cooling-off" periods whereby customers could "return" downloaded music.