Editing Portable media player (section)

==Controversy==
{{further|iTunes Store#The Consumer Council of Norway EULA challenge|Digital rights management}}

Although these issues are not usually controversial within digital audio players, they are matters of continuing controversy and litigation, including but not limited to content distribution and protection, and [[digital rights management]] (DRM).

===Lawsuit with RIAA===
{{Main|Recording Industry Ass'n of America v. Diamond Multimedia Systems, Inc.}}

The [[Recording Industry Association of America]] (RIAA) filed a lawsuit in late 1998 against [[Diamond Multimedia]] for its [[Rio PMP300|Rio]] players,<ref name=mp3/><ref>{{cite court|litigants=RIAA v. Diamond|court=[[United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit|9h Cir.]]|date=15 June 1999|url=http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/ca9/newopinions.nsf/04485f8dcbd4e1ea882569520074e698/ddc79aee7dcda44288256e5a007184a3?OpenDocument|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061004081232/http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/ca9/newopinions.nsf/04485f8dcbd4e1ea882569520074e698/ddc79aee7dcda44288256e5a007184a3?OpenDocument|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 October 2006}}</ref> alleging that the device encouraged copying music illegally. But Diamond won a legal victory on the shoulders of the [[Sony Corp. v. Universal City Studios]] case and DAPs were legally ruled as electronic devices.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.virtualrecordings.com/rio.htm |title=Court Gives "Go-Ahead" to Digital Music Revolution |publisher=Virtual Recordings |last=Gross |first=Robin D |access-date=5 December 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071031072846/http://www.virtualrecordings.com/rio.htm |archive-date=31 October 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Risk of hearing damage===
According to the [[Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks]], the risk of [[Deafness|hearing damage]] from digital audio players depends on both sound level and listening time. The listening habits of most users are unlikely to cause hearing loss, but some people are putting their hearing at risk, because they set the volume control very high or listen to music at high levels for many hours per day. Such listening habits may result in temporary or permanent hearing loss, [[tinnitus]], and difficulties understanding speech in noisy environments.
The [[World Health Organization]] warns that increasing use of headphones and earphones puts 1.1&nbsp;billion teenagers and young adults at risk of hearing loss due to unsafe use of personal audio devices.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2015/ear-care/en/|title=1.1&nbsp;billion people at risk of hearing loss – WHO highlights serious threat posed by exposure to recreational noise|publisher=World Health Organization|date=27 February 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151024050443/http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2015/ear-care/en/|archive-date=24 October 2015|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Many [[smartphone]]s and personal media players are sold with earphones that do a poor job of blocking ambient noise, leading some users to turn up the volume to the maximum level to drown out street noise.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/smartphones-can-blast-your-hearing-health-report-warns-1.2993009|title=Smartphones can blast your hearing, health report warns|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|date=6 April 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150411081344/http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/smartphones-can-blast-your-hearing-health-report-warns-1.2993009|archive-date=11 April 2015|df=dmy-all}}</ref> People listening to their media players on crowded commutes sometimes play music at high volumes feel a sense of separation, freedom and escape from their surroundings.<ref>Bull, Michael. "No Dead Air! The IPod and the Culture of Mobile Listening." The Journal of Leisure Studies 24.4 (2004): 343–55. Print.</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Personal Music Players & Hearing|publisher=GreenFacts Website|date=23 September 2008|access-date=26 March 2009|url=http://copublications.greenfacts.org/en/hearing-loss-personal-music-player-mp3/index.htm|url-status=live|archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20111008140251/http://copublications.greenfacts.org/en/hearing-loss-personal-music-player-mp3/index.htm|archive-date=8 October 2011|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

The World Health Organization recommends that "the highest permissible level of noise exposure in the workplace is 85 dB up to a maximum of eight hours per day" and time in "nightclubs, bars and sporting events" should be limited because they can expose patrons to noise levels of 100&nbsp;dB. The report states
{{blockquote|Teenagers and young people can better protect their hearing by keeping the volume down on personal audio devices, wearing earplugs when visiting noisy venues, and using carefully fitted, and, if possible, [[Noise-cancelling headphones|noise-cancelling earphones/headphones]]. They can also limit the time spent engaged in noisy activities by taking short listening breaks and restricting the daily use of personal audio devices to less than one hour. With the help of smartphone apps, they can monitor safe listening levels.}}

The report also recommends that governments raise awareness of hearing loss, and to recommend people visit a hearing specialist if they experience symptoms of hearing loss, which include pain, ringing or buzzing in the ears.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://myfox8.com/2015/04/13/more-young-people-being-diagnosed-with-hearing-loss/|title=More young people being diagnosed with hearing loss|date=13 April 2015|work=Fox8|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150421164839/http://myfox8.com/2015/04/13/more-young-people-being-diagnosed-with-hearing-loss/|archive-date=21 April 2015|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

A study by the [[National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health|National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health]] found that employees at bars, nightclubs or other music venues were exposed to noise levels above the internationally recommended limits of 82–85&nbsp;dBA per eight hours. This growing phenomena has led to the coining of the term music-induced hearing loss, which includes hearing loss as a result of overexposure to music on personal media players.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2011/01/25/music/|title=CDC – NIOSH Science Blog – These Go to Eleven|date=25 January 2011 |publisher=cdc.gov|url-status=live|archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20160625052812/http://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2011/01/25/music/|archive-date=25 June 2016|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

In 2009 the European Union drafted a law to force manufacturers to cap the maximum volume output on players to 80&nbsp;dB.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Noise warning – DW – 09/28/2009 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/eu-to-impose-volume-caps-on-mp3-players/a-4736663 |access-date=2025-04-06 |website=dw.com |language=en}}</ref>

===FCC issues===
Some MP3 players have electromagnet transmitters, as well as receivers. Many MP3 players have built-in FM radios, but [[personal FM transmitter]]s are not usually built-in due to liability of transmitter [[audio feedback|feedback]] from simultaneous transmission and reception of FM. Also, certain features like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth can interfere with professional-grade communications systems such as aircraft at airports.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Ramanatt|first1=Peter Reji|last2=Natarajan|first2=K.|last3=Shobha|first3=K.R.|date=2020-02-07|title=Challenges in implementing a wireless avionics network|url=https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/AEAT-07-2019-0144/full/html|journal=Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology|language=en|volume=92|issue=3|pages=482–494|doi=10.1108/AEAT-07-2019-0144|s2cid=214199969|issn=1748-8842|url-access=subscription}}</ref>