Don’t go uploading them to Oink just yet, each embedded with your name and account e-mail.
Amidst all the fanfare surrounding the launch of Apple’s iTunes Plus DRM-free music store, Erica over at Tuaw.com, an “Unofficial Apple Weblog,” is reporting that each .m4a music file purchased is then embedded with the users full name and account e-mail, making it a risky endeavor to put them up on your favorite P2P network or BitTorrent tracker site.
They may be DRM-free but, they are anything but “free” it turns out.
Now it’s hard to complain now that one can play and use purchased music tracks as they desire yet, I can’t help but feel eerily creeped out by the fact that my music would contain such identifying information without my say so.
If I rip a CD for a friend who then in turn rips it to his PC, if he then uploads it to a P2P site would I therefore be held accountable? Even worse, would I be spammed into oblivion by those who decide to download the track? It raises a lot of questions and I’m not sure that Apple has any of the answers. I guess I’ll be sticking to my usual method of music acquisition in the meantime.
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Well I don’t use iTunes and it looks like thats the smart thing to do right now.
Or that you simply ripped a CD for a friend? its kinda scary really.
Think about it this way.
You buy a CD. Someone steals the CD then rips and upload it to a p2p network. Are you therefor liable? Now replace “cd” with “m4a.” So if they find one of these files on a p2p network how can they prove that the embedded name was guilty of anything except being a victim of a stolen computer or someone ‘hacked’ into his computer and stole it. Prove it.
I think Apples in for a pounding
http://www.wikisummaries.org/ITunes_Store_Terms_of_Service
they suggest the user is responsible for personal information yet seem to place usernames and other (as yet known) information within these new iTune + files
I’m trying to track down the ToS for the new service but it seems thus far to be a double edged sword
Apple can’t be held responsible for a users lack of understanding but if they’ve left this information undisclosed or buried within the new terms a group lawsuit could deem the average user unfit to guage the risk
adware companies have been sued for this citing a users knee jerk reaction to ignore the fine print as a templated stanadard
@ CCS Dude
I agree totally I think it really opens up a can of worms that has yet to fully unfold. What Id like to know also is whether or not people are bing told this after they make a purchase for so far I have yet to see or hear about anything that makes such an indication that they are.
soul – what can they say if someones system is compromised? it’s not like they can force the consumer to be responsible for any possible exploit osx or windows has being discovered ages from now
it’s just like google video – they had 3 viable options for DRM yet chose the one with the most data mining prospects which require you to be online whenever viewing something you’ve paid for
I’m sure the die hard apple fans won’t care but those that may have picked up a pod because of this new development will now be snagging a creative device instead of an ipod video for flicks/tv shows as well as music
I dont use it but does the users are informed of that?
I can already see a lawsuit now in which tracks you gave to a friend end up on KaZaA and u get a nice notice offering freedom in turn for ratting out your friend.
…wow pay for what you already deserve only to discover you’ve paid to have your ID stolen…
how long before someone digs up these extra tidbits of data for use in ‘stealing’ Itunes tracks from the site via a paying users account details?