On
March 16th, the France's National Assembly will vote on a law that would force music download services to sell music
that would be compatible with all portable players. This notably affects Apple, whose iTunes store sells music that can
only be played on iPods. The law would also reduce fines for illegally sharing and downloading music. Further, the law
would decriminalize the creation and use of software to crack DRM schemes open. It's like the French Freddy Krueger
went into the sleeping minds of record company executives and pulled out their nightmares in the form of French law.
Leave it to the contrarian legislators of France - the same people who brought you total intolerance of
religious symbols in public schools - to come up with a plan that is totally intolerant of the wishes of the
recording industry. Um, you go, France?UPDATE, 3/21: The National Assembly, France's lower house, approved the bill 296-193.
