[governance] Why HTML5 #DRM is dangerous for Free Software (was Draft Statement...)

[Chaitanya Dhareshwar]

In the context of Disney movies - assuming "purchased" and not "pirated" -
wouldnt the purchaser already be exposing their identity for the purchase
validation process?

Further DRM as a part of the standard would mean that browsers that work on
*nix platforms would also support the standard (for example this list here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_web_browsers_for_Unix_and_Unix-like_operating_systems)...
In fact most browsers would sooner or later have built in support for DRM
just in the process of following the standard. Thus people using an open
source platform (using Linux as an example) would easily be able to make
the purchase, as well as watch the movie both using freely available (OS +
Browser + Movie Player).

Now I'm not supporting DRM, but this particular argument I feel cannot be
substantiated.

-C


On Thu, Jun 13, 2013 at 5:59 AM, Norbert Bollow <nb at bollow.ch> wrote:

> Roland Perry <roland at internetpolicyagency.com> wrote:
>
> > Why would DRM on a Disney Movie download stifle the ability for the
> > Open Source movement to continue to develop and distribute its work
> > freely?
>
> Whether we like it or not, Disney Movies are part of culture. If the
> typical way to watch such movies is to do via one's computer, and it
> is impossible to watch them on operating system platforms which are
> Free Software (aka Open Source software), then people will have to
> choose between enjoying their human right to privacy (let's face it,
> there is no trustworthy way to protect one's privacy while using an
> operating system platform which is not Free Software) and enjoying
> their human right to fully participate in culture.
>
> Of course, if the introduction of DRM for movies is fully successful,
> it won't be long before DRM is also introduced for other types of
> content. For example, DRM for business correspondence. Ouch, then you
> suddenly can't read business correspondence if you're not using a
> “trusted platform”.
>
> If more and more important content gets DRM-encumbered, it would
> remain legally possible to develop and to distribute operating system
> platforms which are Free Software, but that would be increasingly
> pointless, as those platforms would be less and less useful. (I'm
> talking about use as a general-purpose desktop computer platform
> here, not about use in special-purpose embedded systems.)
>
> Greetings,
> Norbert
>
> --
> Recommendations for effective and constructive participation in IGC:
> 1. Respond to the content of assertions and arguments, not to the person
> 2. Be conservative in what you send, be liberal in what you accept
>
>
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