Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

October 11, 2008 4:17:11 AM CDT

Learn about Newser Points »

« Back to the grid | Next story »

New iTunes Offerings Raise Privacy Worries

Posted Jun 5, 07 11:23 AM CDT in Technology,  Business 

(Newser) – Apple's announcement that iTunes would make DRM-free music available omitted a significant detail: The personal information embedded in regular tracks is also in the non-privacy-protected tunes. That raises privacy concerns, the AP reports, including the possibility that the unencrypted information might make it easier for music companies to crack down on illegal online sharing.

"It's not as bad as leaking your credit card number or your Social Security number, but it's still a pretty careless security leak," says a lawyer with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit advocacy group. DRM-free music can be freely copied and played anywhere, and Apple's reasoning for making users identifiable isn't clear; the company hasn't commented.

Source Associated Press

0 comments | Print E-mail | Digg Seed this on Newsvine Add this link to Del.icio.us StumbleUpon

Related Newser Stories

  • MySpace Elbows iTunes With New Music Service

    Sep 25, 08 3:50 AM CDT
    MySpace Elbows iTunes With New Music Service Apple’s iTunes meets its first serious challenge today with the launch of MySpace Music, CNET reports. The second-largest online social network has joined forces with Amazon and the world’s four biggest record labels to offer free streaming and paid downloads. The move also pitches media mogul and MySpace owner Rupert Murdoch against Apple CEO Steve Jobs.
    More »

  • Zune's Music Discovery System Tops iTunes

    Sep 17, 08 3:38 PM CDT
    Zune's Music Discovery System Tops iTunes In test-driving new software from Apple and Microsoft designed to facilitate music discovery for users of their respective media players, Walter Mossberg gives the edge to Zune’s system over rival iTunes’ upgrades. “Though I didn't happen to have as much time to use Zune's software as I did Apple's Genius, I got more out of my Zune experience,” he writes in the Wall Street Journal.
    More »

  • China Blocks iTunes Over Pro-Tibet Album

    Aug 21, 08 5:10 PM CDT
    China Blocks iTunes Over Pro-Tibet Album The Chinese government has blocked access to Apple’s iTunes music store for providing free downloads of a pro-Tibet compilation to Olympic athletes, the Telegraph reports. Users reported a blackout Monday, shortly after the Campaign for Tibet notes that 40 Olympians had downloaded the record. Only the Chinese iTunes store is blocked, however—people in China can access other countries' stores with foreign credit cards. More »

  • Dell Looks to Muscle In on iPod

    Jul 30, 08 9:42 AM CDT
    Dell Looks to Muscle In on iPod Dell has decided it’s time for a rematch with Apple’s iconic iPod, and the company is planning to introduce a new digital music player and online download service as early at September, the Wall Street Journal reports. Dell failed in its bid to gain a seat at the online music table with a stable of MP3 players it introduced in 2003.
    More »

  • Apple Server Meltdown Foils Launch of iPhone 3G

    Jul 11, 08 3:56 PM CDT
    Apple Server Meltdown Foils Launch of iPhone 3G The launch of Apple's hotly anticipated iPhone 3G turned into an IT meltdown today, as customers were unable to get their new phones working. A global problem with Apple's iTunes servers prevented the phones from being activated in-store, as planned. Employees implored buyers to perform the last step on their own computers, but  iTunes servers were equally hard to reach from home, leaving the phones unusable except for emergency calls. More »

Apple computer CEO Steve Jobs, right, with Damon Alban, center, of the pop group Blurr, and Eric Nicoli, CEO EMI Group look on in the lobby of the EMI record company headquarters in London, Monday April...   (Associated Press)
In a file photo Nessia Frazier listens on a Apple Computer iPod nano at the Apple store in Palo Alto, Calif., Monday, July 17, 2006. The recent rollout of songs without copy protection software at Apple...   (Associated Press)
Apple(R) today launched iTunes(R) Plus, DRM-free music tracks from EMI featuring high quality 256 kbps AAC encoding for audio quality virtually indistinguishable from the original recordings for $1.29...   (Associated Press)
hoto/Jacques Brinon, file)   (Associated Press)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

Threads (
1
 of 4)

Tags

Apple  • iTunes  • online privacy  • DRM free music


Loading...

Premium Articles from HighBeam

Find more articles like this

Today's Most Popular

Loading...

Other Business Stories

What is Newser?

2008 Codie Finalist

Newser gives you more news in less time. We search for the best and most important stories all over the web, read them for you, and deliver concise and sharp summaries—along with links to the full text. Newser provides a way to stay on top of an ever-expanding horizon of news and opinion—politics, sports, business, trends, technology, personalities, crimes, and controversies. News