Norwegian consumer advocacy group The Consumer Councilhas announced that the Consumer Ombudsman (CO) in Norway (an independent Norwegian administrative body tasked with enforcing the Marketing Control Act and supervising consumer issues) has given its support to many of the complaints that were brought in the Consumer Council's January 25th complaint against Apple's Norwegian iTunes Music Store.
Highlights of the decision -It is unreasonable that the consumer must give consent to an agreement regulated by English law. -It is unreasonable for iTunes to disclaim all liability for possible damage the software may cause. -It is unreasonable that rights to music already downloaded by the consumer may change after purchase.
The decision appears to not agree with the Consumer Council's attempt to force Apple to allow customers to circumvent Fairplay. The original complaint (pdf) listed the fact that consumers were prevented under the license agreement from circumventing Apple's Fairplay DRM.
The Consumer Council is now waiting for Apple's response before proceeding. While it is still voluntary for Apple to comply with the CO's decision, the CO can forward the case to the Market Council (the Norwegian court of law in the field). The CO and the Market Council have the authority to ban unlawful contract terms and conditions.
The iTunes Music Store has come under attack in recent months by France, who originally proposed to demand that Apple open up its music store to allow other competing media players to play music downloaded from the iTunes Music Store. The bill was later gutted in committee and no longer issued those specific requirements.
Update: A local Norwegian news site reports that iTunes interoperability does seem to be at issue. In addition, corresponding groups in Sweden and Denmark appear to also be following suit.
Thursday February 5, 2026 12:22 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld.
The report, citing industry sources, is available in English on Macworld.
Apple announced the iPhone 16e on Wednesday, February 19 last year, so the iPhone 17e would be unveiled exactly one year later if this rumor is accurate. It is quite uncommon for Apple to unveil...
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Apple turns 50 this year, and its CEO Tim Cook has promised to celebrate the milestone. The big day falls on April 1, 2026.
"I've been unusually reflective lately about Apple because we have been working on what do we do to mark this moment," Cook told employees today, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "When you really stop and pause and think about the last 50 years, it makes your heart ...
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In the iOS 26.4 update that's coming this spring, Apple will introduce a new version of Siri that's going to overhaul how we interact with the personal assistant and what it's able to do.
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Upgraded Architecture
The next-generation...
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Apple today shared an ad that shows how the upgraded Center Stage front camera on the latest iPhones improves the process of taking a group selfie.
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While the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate is now available ahead of a public release, the first iOS 26.4 beta is likely still at least a week away. Following beta testing, iOS 26.4 will likely be released to the general public in March or April.
Below, we have recapped known or rumored iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 features so far.
iOS 26.3
iPhone to Android Transfer Tool
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