k wrote:

Decius wrote:

Such is the situation with Apple's new DRM-free music: songs sold without DRM still have a user's full name and account e-mail embedded in them

I'm having trouble conjuring up the requisite level of outrage for this one. For years we've been asking for non-DRM audio so we could stop being treated like criminals and prove that we're not a bunch of thieves.

I don't really care if my name and email are in these tracks because I'm not planning to share them about. There's no legitimate reason to do so, so the only legitimate concern here is that someone might acquire one illicitly and then have your contact info.

Anyone likely to be in a position to steal an mp4 from you probably either already knows that shit, or has compromised your computer, and has a lot more information at his fingertips than just your name and email.

This is much ado about nothing.

I don't agree. "As long as you don't do anything wrong there is no problem" is not an acceptable explanation for secret mass surveillance by a business. If they are going to encode your personal information into files they are selling you that they claim are unencumbered, they ought to tell you they are doing so. This shouldn't be some secret that gets rooted out by curious individuals. The point of advocating that they simply sell undrmed files is that people will purchase music because it is the most convenient method of obtaining it (as has always been the case), and that some incidental share is tolerable (as has always been the case). People who engage in such incidental sharing have a right to know that their personal information is attached to it.

RE: Apple hides account info in DRM-free music, too