Today is the Day Against DRM
Join us and the Free Software Foundation in the fight against DRM! Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) is any technology that is built into an electronic product or service with the aim of limiting its use. It is designed to prevent customers from using digital technology in ways that do not correspond to the business agenda of a content provider or device manufacturer.
Digital Restrictions Managements often restricts individuals from doing things that are perfectly legal, so we might not be able to put together a mix of music files we bought legally, or to lend an e-book to a friend. Even backups can be restricted. Restrictions management technology removes basic rights and freedoms in the digital world. All DRM systems have one thing in common: They give businesses control over things that we, the owners, should be in control of. For example, businesses decide how often we can play the movies we paid for and what kind of files we can read on our e-book reader.
Free Software is software that puts the user in control of their own devices. In contrast, DRM Digital Restrictions Management is technology to put the user under control of a third party: these two goals are fundamentally incompatible.
If you want to get active on this topic, you can support the Day Against DRM which takes place every year. This campaign is organised by the Free Software Foundation, our sister organisation based in the US. On the campaign website you also can find a list of DRM-free-platforms for books, videos and audio files. To raise more awareness about the topic yourself, you can order our leaflet about DRM or recommend the first episode of our Software Freedom Podcast with Cory Doctorow on this topic.