Apple criticized for embedding names, e-mails in songs

by admin June 3, 2007 at 3:10 am

It used to be that music fans believed cryptic messages about Satan or the death of a band member were hidden within rock albums.

Nowadays, the secrets buried in digital music are way too easy to find, according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). The consumer watchdog group, which focuses on the Web, is taking issue with Apple’s practice of embedding customer information within iTunes music.

Apple includes customer names and e-mail addresses within song files purchased from iTunes, according to Fred von Lohmann, an EFF attorney. Several tech blogs wrote about the embedded information this week after Apple launched iTunes Plus, a service that features music stripped of controversial copy-protection software.

Read more: CNET News.com