Europe to poke its nose into MP3 players

by Scott Bicheno on 23 January 2009, 13:50

Tags: European Commission

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Nanny continent

Did you know we have a European Commissioner for consumers? Well we do; her name is Meglena Kuneva and she's worried about our eardrums.

Kuneva is going to give a keynote speech addressing the supposed health risks posed by MP3 players. Apparently: "5-10% of personal music player listeners risk permanent hearing loss if they listen to a personal music player at high volume settings for more than one hour per day over a period of at least 5 years," according to the press release.

"In the light of the recent scientific advice, we need to act quickly, to look again at the controls in place, to make sure they are fully effective and keep pace with new technology so that consumers benefit from the highest safety standards," said Kuneva.

The keynote will be given at a one day conference in Brussels, to which Nokia and Apple have been invited as well as the French Ministry of Health, the UK Royal National Institute for Deaf People and the Spanish Confederation of Consumer and Users.

My personal opinion is that MP3 players I've used aren't loud enough, but what do you think? Also, do you think organisations like the European Commission should be able to dictate maximum volume levels on MP3 players even if they do damage our health? Let us know in the HEXUS.community, but you might have to speak up.

 



HEXUS Forums :: 11 Comments

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i thought they did this a few years ago?

I seem to remember there were some players that went to higher volumes if you told them you were in the US, or flashed them with a US firmware as opposed to the European one.
Funkstar
i thought they did this a few years ago?

Agreed, back when Walkmans were becoming popular there was something about this. Can't remember what the outcome was though but there have been volume limiting in devices for years. Perhaps it was never made a mandatory requirement and that's what they're after now.
Do you know what else hurts my ear drums?.. Wind bag politicians talking about something they know nothing about, then trying to coddle us from their point of ignorance.

If idiots want to listen to noise till their ear drums pop, that's their problem, whacking on a heap of useless and unneccery legislation wont stop them from doing it.
aidanjt
If idiots want to listen to noise till their ear drums pop, that's their problem, whacking on a heap of useless and unneccery legislation wont stop them from doing it.

Actually I don't agree with that. In my mind it ought to be fine for adults to do as they please, but and by default, it should be configured for a lower maximum volume for younger users. Just ensure there's an option to disable it.
pauldarkside
Actually I don't agree with that. In my mind it ought to be fine for adults to do as they please, but and by default, it should be configured for a lower maximum volume for younger users. Just ensure there's an option to disable it.

That's a copout, “ZOMG TINK OF T3H CHILDREN” is used as a bogus banner to ban all kinds of things. And really, mp3 players already have pathetic outputs.