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Had the clause been included in the Authors Rights Law it would have forced Apple to offer iTunes downloads compatible with portable music players that support Microsoft's PlaysForSure DRM system. The prospect led some to speculate Apple might close the French version of the iTunes Music Store.

A proposal to legalise p2p sharing in return for the payment of a monthly licence fee had already been dropped from the legislation. Instead small fines have been introduced for anyone who uses p2p to download music for their own use, although the recording industry is less than happy about this as the money collected will go to the French treasury rather than its own pockets.

The law will also provide for the establishment of a committee that will decide fair usage rights for digital media, such as the number of copies of a CD or DVD that can be made for the disc owner's personal use.