[governance] EFF Makes Formal Objection to DRM in HTML5

[Catherine Roy]

FYI. (Source : 
https://www.eff.org/press/releases/eff-makes-formal-objection-drm-html5)

EFF Makes Formal Objection to DRM in HTML5
Draft Proposal from W3C Could Stymie Web Innovation

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.

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.

"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."

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.

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.

"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."

For EFF's full Formal Objection:
https://www.eff.org/pages/drm/w3c-formal-objection-html-wg

For more on DRM in HTML5:
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/05/eff-joins-w3c-fight-drm

Contacts:

Danny O'Brien
International Outreach Coordinator
Electronic Frontier Foundation
danny at eff.org

Seth Schoen
Senior Staff Technologist
Electronic Frontier Foundation
seth at eff.org




-- 
Catherine Roy
http://www.catherine-roy.net


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