Earlier this week, the European Union’s governing body, the European Commission, unveiled plans to require all new music devices – including MP3 players and mobile phones – to have default volume levels. These levels would be set at what the administration deems “safe” for listening. Safe listening levels will be determined by the European standards body (CENELEC) and would only mandate that these settings are defaulted by the manufacturers (meaning they could be changed by the end user).

The Commission says the changes would likely take up to 2 years to take effect. In addition, it reminds that while EU standards are not mandatory, they generally become “the ‘de facto’ norm” for the industry.

This just seems to add fuel to the fire for those who claim the EU tends to meddle in the affairs of its citizens. What do you think? Is the EU protecting the populace from itself, or is this a case of overregulation?