Apple criticized for embedding names, e-mails in songs

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, claims Apple has left information belonging to customers of the new iTunes Plus service exposed. Music purchased from iTunes Plus is embedded with unencrypted customer names and e-mail addresses. An Apple spokesman declined to comment. Apple has for a long time included a customer's name and e-mail address within song files purchased from iTunes. But the personal information was encrypted. On Wednesday, the company launched iTunes Plus, a service that features music without controversial copy-protection software.
In these songs, names and e-mail addresses were unencrypted, according to Fred von Lohmann, an EFF attorney. He pointed out that data could easily be compromised if an iPod is lost or stolen. "It's not as bad as losing a credit card number," von Lohmann said, "but it's still information that people wouldn't want floating around out there--especially without them knowing about it." Because Apple isn't talking, nobody knows for sure why the company would leave customer information exposed.
Some have speculated that Apple is adding watermarks to music files. Watermarking describes the practice of inserting identifying information into digital files so they can be tracked. Privacy groups frown on such practices, but von Lohmann doubts that these were Apple's intentions.
"I think this is just classic carelessness," von Lohmann said. "They have been embedding information for some time. I think nobody went back and noticed this information on iTunes Plus was in the clear."
Mike Goodman, a Yankee Group Research analyst, argued that watermarking is "certainly better than digital rights management.
"Watermarking does not treat the consumer like a criminal," Goodman said. "DRM is also restrictive, telling you how many times you can play a song or which device it can be played on. Watermarking works on the assumption that a consumer is innocent but provides the industry an opportunity to catch someone that breaks the law."
Ars Technica and Tuaw earlier reported on the personal information within iTunes' music.