• Financial Times, Thursday, January 25, 2007 11 AM

Apple's iPod and iTunes Music Store dominate in Europe, but a series of new developments here are aimed at breaking up what's rapidly turning into a monopoly.

Earlier today, Norway's ombudsman of consumer products concluded that iTunes breaks its consumer-protection laws because it doesn't allow downloaded songs to be played on music devices other than its iPod. The Ombudsman set an Oct. 1 deadline for Apple to take away its DRM codes and make the iPod available to other music files. If it doesn't, Apple will be taken to court, fined, and eventually forced to shut down operations in Norway.

Will other European countries follow suit? Scandinavian neighbors Sweden and Finland said they backed Norway's stance, but had yet to take action. Torgeir Waterhouse, the Norwegian consumer rights official, says Germany and France had joined its campaign.

Apple said it would fight efforts in Norway and elsewhere to open iTunes.

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