The honeymoon is over. EU hits Apple over iTunes pricing

Not even a day after the world shaking announcement from Apple and EMI to drop DRM from the iTunes Store and the EU is back harassing them. Many thought that Apple's move would pacify the suits in Brussels and their lawsuit over interoperability, but those Cupertino boys just can't catch a break.

A European commission is investigating the pricing of the the iTunes store across the continent. They say that

"Consumers can only buy music from the iTunes online stores in their country of residence and are therefore restricted in their choice of where to buy music."

Apple countered with the expected claim that it was the record companies wot dunnit:

"We were advised by the music labels and publishers that there were certain legal limits to the rights they could grant us."

The EU wants to force equal pricing across countries and let customers buy from any store, not just the one in their own country. At the moment a regular 99c iTune will cost $1.56 in the UK.

Although it would be a welcome change if the prices were to come in line with those in the US, I really just want to be able to download Lost.

EU price probe into Apple iTunes [BBC]