Digital Restrictions Management (DRM)
by Peter Brown
FSF Executive Director
DefectiveByDesign.org has declared Tuesday October 3rd a "Day Against
DRM".
With more than 10,000 technologists having joined the campaign, and
pledged to take direct action to stop DRM, and with more than 300
"actions" planned across the globe on October 3rd, we aim to raise the
level of awareness about the threats posed by DRM technology.
DRM technology is a growing problem for all computer users, by
extension all of society. DRM is typically used to restrict
individuals' access to copyrighted works. To enforce these
restrictions, DRM software, and now hardware, must monitor and report
on the computer users' behavior.
You might be aware that iPod users are restricted from transferring
their music to other non-Apple devices because the music downloaded
from iTunes is encrypted - locked with DRM. Apple allows you to rip
the tracks to a CD, but if you ever want to take them to a new
portable device in a compressed format, you will end up with very
lousy sound quality. These drawbacks are of course there for a reason:
they enable Apple to inconvenience their customers into binding
themselves to Apple products.
This type of nuisance is but the foreshadow of greater ones to come.
Standing behind the technology companies, the film and music industry
(Big Media) loom large. To serve their interests, they demand DRM be
imposed before they will allow their copyrighted works to be
distributed. Of course many of the technology companies now see
themselves as part of Big Media. Sony is a film and music company,
Microsoft owns MSNBC, and Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple, sits on the
board of Disney. These technology companies cannot be relied upon to
look out for the best interests of technology product consumers.
Big Media hope that DRM will deliver to them what their political
lobbying to change copyright law never has: they aim to turn our every
interaction with a copyrighted work into a transaction, abolishing
fair use and the commons, and to make copyright term unending.
As entities granted monopoly rights, monetizing every use of a
copyrighted work makes sense to them. DRM technology allows them to
maximize their profits and trump our traditional uses of copyrighted
works. You gave up your rights. That you did so under duress is a
moot point.
Amazon's new movie download service is called Unbox and it outlines
the path we have embarked upon with DRM. The user agreement requires
amongst other things that you allow Unbox DRM software to monitor your
hard drive and to report activity to Amazon. These reports would thus
include a list of: all the software installed; all the copyrighted
works you own; all your computers interaction with other devices. By
agreeing to it, you will be forfeiting your freedom to such an extent
that you will not be able to play movies which Unbox DRM has flagged.
If you change your mind and remove the software you will remove all
your movies along with it. You are restricted even geographically in
your enjoyment and again you lose your movies if you ever move out of
the USA. You of course have to agree that they can change these terms
at any time. Microsoft's newly upgraded Windows Media Player 11
(WMP11) user agreement has a similar set of terms
Each time Big Media force you to upgrade your software you downgrade
your rights. Every new DRM system will enforce a harsher control
regime. Apple's added more restrictions to their music service, and
their new video service is yet more restrictive. And so it goes.
What does this mean for the future? No fair use. No purchase and
resell. No private copies. No sharing. No backup. No swapping. No mix
tapes. No privacy. No ownership. No commons. No control over our
computers. No control over our electronic devices. The conversion of
our homes into apparatus to monitor our interaction with their
copyrighted works.
If this type of invasion of privacy were coming from any other source,
it would not be tolerated. And that is where we as technologists come
in. We can see this threat and it is our civic duty to draw attention
to it.
As users of free software we are not immune to DRM. We can be locked
out, and our software won't be able to play movies or music under
lock. The RIAA and the MPAA are actively lobbying Congress to consider
new laws that mandate DRM and outlaw new gadgets that don't enforce
DRM. DRM has become a major threat to free software.
When we allow others to control our computers and monitor our actions
we invite deeper surveillance. With our personal viewing, listening,
reading, browsing records on file, are we not to be alarmed?
In September 2005 a Disney executive named Peter Lee told The
Economist, "If consumers even know there's a DRM, what it is, and how
it works, we've already failed,". A year later, we hope to make that
prediction come true. With your help, on October 3rd, we can. Join
the campaign at DefectiveByDesign.org!
http://www.defectivebydesign.org