When Apple’s iTunes rocked our planet with its 2003 blast-off, it triggered near-instantaneous iPod adoption by a generation of audio thrill-seekers and revived the company that delivered us into the age of the personal computer.

The innovation has achieved the ultimate imprimatur of success: antitrust regulators are descending. France has passed legislation that could force Apple’s iTunes to play on devices other than Apple’s iPods. While the law allows Apple to retain iTunes exclusivity if it gains copyright permission, this escape hatch could prove treacherous. Record companies want to renegotiate their iTunes deals upwards, and regulation sends its own signal. “We are the first in the world to do this,” crowed Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres, French culture minister. Norway, Denmark and Sweden are poised to follow.