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<font face="Verdana">I propose that </font>the IGC supports and
endorses this objection... parminder<br>
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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On Thursday 30 May 2013 06:07 AM,
Catherine Roy wrote:<br>
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<blockquote cite="mid:51A69F60.9020700@catherine-roy.net"
type="cite">FYI. (Source :
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.eff.org/press/releases/eff-makes-formal-objection-drm-html5">https://www.eff.org/press/releases/eff-makes-formal-objection-drm-html5</a>)
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EFF Makes Formal Objection to DRM in HTML5
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Draft Proposal from W3C Could Stymie Web Innovation
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San Francisco - Today the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
filed a formal objection to the inclusion of digital rights
management (DRM) in HTML5, arguing that a draft proposal from the
World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) could stymie Web innovation and
block access to content for people across the globe.
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The W3C's HTML working group is creating a technical standard for
HTML5, an upcoming revision to the computer language that creates
webpages and otherwise displays content online. The working group
has accepted a draft that includes discussion of Encrypted Media
Extensions (EME), which will hard-wire the requirements of DRM
vendors into the HTML standard.
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"This proposal stands apart from all other aspects of HTML
standardization: it defines a new 'black box' for the
entertainment industry, fenced off from control by the browser and
end-user," said EFF International Director Danny O'Brien. "While
this plan might soothe Hollywood content providers who are scared
of technological evolution, it could also create serious
impediments to interoperability and access for all."
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DRM standards look like normal technical standards but turn out to
have quite different qualities. They fail to implement their
stated intention – protecting media – while dragging in legal
mandates that chill the speech of technologists, lock down
technology, and violate property rights by seizing control of
personal computers from their owners. Accepting EME could lead to
other rightsholders demanding the same privileges as Hollywood,
leading to a Web where images and pages cannot be saved or
searched, ads cannot be blocked, and innovative new browsers
cannot compete without explicit permission from big content
companies.
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EFF filed this objection as its first act as a full member of W3C.
EFF's goal is to broaden the discussion of the consequences of
accepting DRM-based proposals like EME for the future of the Web.
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"The W3C needs to develop a policy regarding DRM and similar
proposals, or risk having its own work and the future of the Web
become buried in the demands of businesses that would rather it
never existed in the first place," said EFF Senior Staff
Technologist Seth Schoen. "The EME proposal needs to be seen for
what it is: a creation that will shut out open source developers
and competition, throw away interoperability, and lock in legacy
business models. This is the opposite of the fair use model that
gave birth to the Web."
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For EFF's full Formal Objection:
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<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.eff.org/pages/drm/w3c-formal-objection-html-wg">https://www.eff.org/pages/drm/w3c-formal-objection-html-wg</a>
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For more on DRM in HTML5:
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<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/05/eff-joins-w3c-fight-drm">https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/05/eff-joins-w3c-fight-drm</a>
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Contacts:
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Danny O'Brien
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International Outreach Coordinator
<br>
Electronic Frontier Foundation
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:danny@eff.org">danny@eff.org</a>
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Seth Schoen
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Senior Staff Technologist
<br>
Electronic Frontier Foundation
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:seth@eff.org">seth@eff.org</a>
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