Re: Call for support for 'citizens to fight back against online censorship and surveillance' and to have a vote on the 'web we want'

I normally wouldn’t reply to these posts but I think it is important that their is some public record that not all ‘web citizens’ agree with your personal opinion.

 >>> The web citizens do not want DRM in the web standards and we have made this very clear to you and it is clear that there is no consensus from the web citizens to add DRM to the web, or a DRM interface such as the currently proposed EME.

Please do not state your opinions as statements of facts. I am a ‘web citizen’ and I am happy to have restrictions on how I can access media in order to allow me to access said media. One of the basic parts of being a citizen of any society is to exchange your freedom to do what you want in order to obtain the benefits of living within that society.

Just because there is not consensus on an issue does not mean that things should not move forwards. Could you imagine if we waited for consensus to move forwards on political issues?


On 14 Dec 2013, at 07:44, Fred Andrews <fredandw@live.com> wrote:

> http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/i.html?cid=37478248
> 
> "Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, says a recent United Nations resolution to protect online privacy does not go far enough and has called on citizens to fight back against online censorship and surveillance."
> 
> Well Tim, how about getting your own house in order?
> 
> The web citizens do not want DRM in the web standards and we have made this very clear to you and it is clear that there is no consensus from the web citizens to add DRM to the web, or a DRM interface such as the currently proposed EME.
> 
> I challenge the W3C to open up the working groups to web citizens so that we can have a vote on the web we want.
> 
> Tim, the linked view of the W3C process seems rather contrary to citizens getting the web we want.  It is very important that the public clearly understands what the W3C output represents as it is not going to be the web web want if the current EME advances so could you please personally inform us how you work?
> http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-restrictedmedia/2013Dec/0003.html
> 
> DRM is a security problem that would take away citizens control of their own computer and would be a vector for commercial and state actors to compromised citizens privacy.
> 
> Tim, Jeffy informs us that you have not even reviewed the EME.  Given the significant threat that DRM presents to citizens privacy, and the significant number of citizens who have communicated that this is not the web we want, could you please try to find some time to look over it?
> http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-restrictedmedia/2013Nov/0032.html
> 
> Tim, the Chairs of the HTML WG have interpreted your decision to make content protection in scope as support for advancement of the EME and to have given them authority to exclude consideration of contrary work.  As far as they are concerned any disagreement with the advancement of the EME is a matter between you and the citizens.
> http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-html-admin/2013Sep/0132.html
> 
> So, are the citizens to 'fight back against' you and the W3C to get the 'web web want'?  Are the citizens to hold you and the W3C hostile to their privacy and the web they want?
> 
> cheers
> Fred