[governance] EFF Makes Formal Objection to DRM in HTML5

[parminder]

I propose that the IGC supports and endorses this objection... parminder

On Thursday 30 May 2013 06:07 AM, Catherine Roy wrote:
> 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
>
>
>
>

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.igcaucus.org/pipermail/governance/attachments/20130530/435ca081/attachment.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
____________________________________________________________
You received this message as a subscriber on the list:
     governance at lists.igcaucus.org
To be removed from the list, visit:
     http://www.igcaucus.org/unsubscribing

For all other list information and functions, see:
     http://lists.igcaucus.org/info/governance
To edit your profile and to find the IGC's charter, see:
     http://www.igcaucus.org/

Translate this email: http://translate.google.com/translate_t