[governance] Digital restrictions management in HTML standards

[Suresh Ramasubramanian]

This below is a more than fair answer to my question

However, as Catherine says, a technical spec needs to be defeated by alternate specs, or by poking holes in the existing spec, neither of which most people on this list will be able to do. The alternate is to sue them in some sort of public interest litigation but even that will be of dubious benefit.

After that, a spec is a spec. It still needs adoption, and popular apps can refuse to support it.

--srs (iPad)

On 15-May-2013, at 4:01, Catherine Roy <ecrire at catherine-roy.net> wrote:

> Thank you Norbert for the resources. However, the last link pointed to the list archives and not any content that I could see.
> 
> I would add that the EME proposal also represents problems for certain users with disabilities. It is a well known fact that DRM schemes are usually very problematic for many people with disabilities (Mike Gurstein's post yesterday regarding the saga that has become the WIPO Treaty for the Blind gives a good indication of how copyright holders are actively trying to limit fair use for people that are severely disadvantaged due to impairments). As pointed out by Pratik Patel (who is himself blind and an expert on technology accessibility issues) in the comments section of Manu's excellent post on the EME spec :
> 
> "The current state of proprietary implementations by players such as Netflix makes it quite difficult for disabled people to access content via the web. The plugins, no matter how they’re designed, make for a poor user experience. If there is to be any benefit derived by this effort, it must be that browser implementations provide a consistently accessible and usable interface. Of course, since users are the enemy, this may not be the first thing that content providers and aggregaters are concerned about." - <http://manu.sporny.org/2013/drm-in-html5/#comment-1614>
> 
> I have been a member of the HTML Working Group for the last 6 or 7 years now and I doubt the W3C will be swayed by moral or social arguments. I believe W3C wants [needs?] to offer something regarding DRM for audio and video content to some of its big name members (who are supporting this proposal) if they are ever to adopt HTML5 use for broadcasting audio and video content. But I also believe W3C would be more than happy to entertain any proposal that would be technically superior to the EME specification. Process has already been used to advance this spec to First Public Working Draft even though there is obviously not consensus in the working group and strong opposition outside the W3C.
> 
> So basically, the best way to defeat this spec is to propose something better that will rally a majority of working group members. I do not believe it is possible to evacuate DRM support from HTML5 (and yes, regardless of what the spec says in intro, it *will* facilitate DRM, not to mention make it part of the core language of the Web, and unfortunately, in a rather inelegant and inefficient way) but it may be possible to propose something that will not lock out open source or assistive technologies. I realize the CSIGC is not the body to propose a technically superior alternative. But signifying its opposition to a spec that will have vast repercussions for the Web and its users in terms of access and fair use is, in my humble opinion, a step in the right direction and a show of support for those who would be willing to take on the task of a counter-proposal.
> 
> Best regards,
> 
> 
> Catherine
> 
> -- 
> Catherine Roy
> http://www.catherine-roy.net
> 
> 
> 
> On 14/05/2013 3:14 PM, Norbert Bollow wrote:
>> Suresh Ramasubramanian <suresh at hserus.net> wrote:
>> 
>>> That would possibly be equivalent to endorsing something without
>>> actually understanding it in enough detail to make an informed
>>> decision?
>> What information is needed "to make an informed decision" beyond
>> what is by now readily available?
>> 
>> - the actual draft specification http://www.w3.org/TR/encrypted-media/
>> 
>> - criticism from those who oppose DRM as a matter of principle:
>>   https://www.defectivebydesign.org/sign-on-against-drm-in-html
>> 
>> - criticism from a knowledgeable supporter of DRM, and discussion in
>>   comments:
>>   http://manu.sporny.org/2013/drm-in-html5/
>> 
>> - my concerns about effects on Free Software OSes:
>>   http://lists.igcaucus.org/arc/governance/2013-05/msg00164.html
>> 
>> Greetings,
>> Norbert
>> 
> 
> 
> 
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