- From: Joshua Gay <jgay@fsf.org>
- Date: Tue, 11 Jun 2013 07:40:04 -0400
- To: public-restrictedmedia@w3.org
On 06/10/2013 12:28 PM, Mark Watson wrote: > I am addressing only the specific claim that content protection measures > rely on an "assumption that the majority of customers are criminals". > This is just nonsense. The statement I originally made was "a significant portion of the public are likely to take part in criminal behaviour." DRM isn't a person securing his or her own property or home or valuables. It is not a security system. It is a system of surveillance and restrictions. A computer user gives up security, freedom, and control on their computers -- that is a user installs a DRM system and in doing so agrees to be monitored and have their behaviour restricted on their own computer in their own home -- and what they get in exchange is "a user experience." Why are people willing to give-up so much in return for an experience? Well, the arguments shared by Jeff are basically that restricted media is necessary because of market reasons. Well, the groups that make these arguments usually say the reason behind them is that on certain kinds of "premium" media, there is a significant enough portion of the population engaging in criminal activities of uploading and downloading works without permission of the copyright holder that the movie companies are losing a substantial profit. And, should we trust and believe these arguments? As a consumer, who can I look to in order to help make an informed decision? A lot of people think that the W3C is deserving of their trust on such matters. They are a standards and recommendations organization that has helped the web flourish. Unfortunately, I think that the decision to validate and support restricted media technologies is something that is not in the best interest of the public and that the W3C is not deserving of the public's trust. I thought my last email was actually going to be my last. But, I realized it was probably worth sharing my reason before I closed my account and whatnot. Well, my reason is pretty simple, I've lost trust and faith in the W3C and I believe that no amount of discussion is going to lead to anything but a slow and steady progression of the W3C putting more work and lending more support to APIs for restricted media. When I came-up with the catch-phrase "The Hollyweb", I thought that perhaps I was being a little extreme. But, now that I've seen how far Jeff and the W3C will go to defend and help Hollywood in their "plight," I realize that I did not go far enough. So, for *this* issue, I will now be focusing my efforts entirely on raising awareness about the corruption within the W3C and why they are doing more for the special interest than for what's in the public interest. Bye, Josh
Received on Tuesday, 11 June 2013 11:40:26 UTC