The BBC has been on the receiving end of some complaints from users of their iPlayer service, the online services that allows users watch and listen to BBC TV & Radio programmes up to 20 days after their original broadcast.

Users have complained to the European Comission that the BBC are in breach of EU anti-trust regulations because the system is currently only compatible with Microsoft technologies, the accusations against the BBC have been made by advocacy group the Open Source Consortium (OSC)

They argue that the iPlayer will force people to use and purchase Microsoft products because it will initially only work on Microsoft Windows computers. This would give the software company an unfair advantage and would be uncompetitive, they say.

The iPlayer makes use of Microsoft’s off-the-shelf Digital Rights Management (DRM) system that means the programmes are deleted after 30 days. All programmes, once downloaded, are only playable within iPlayer or using Window’s Media Player 10 or 11. The DRM also prevents them being copied to other mediums such as DVD.

A statement from the BBC read: “Our ability to deliver this open approach will be influenced by the availability of alternative DRM systems on the market. “In order to maximise public value, the BBC must balance extending access to content with the need to maintain the interests of rights holders and the value of secondary rights in BBC programming. Without a time-based DRM framework the BBC would not be able to meet the terms of the trust’s PVT (Public Value Test) decision.”

However, the OSC argue that DRM-free downloads would be in the “public interest”. “In an ideal world all DRM would be removed,” said Mr Taylor.

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