Defective by Design

One of the most noteworthy events in the history of Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) was Amazon's Orwellian deletion of George Orwell's 1984 from its customers' e-readers. Ever since then, it's been a touchstone of anti-DRM activism, giving users yet

Grassroots organization against a corporation as large as Microsoft is never easy. They have the advertising budget to claim that they "love Linux" (sic), not to mention the money and political willpower to corral free software developers from around the world on their nonfree platform Microsoft GitHub. This year's IDAD took aim at one specific injustice: their requiring a hardware TPM module for users being forced to "upgrade" to Windows 11.

Eighteen years after the Defective by Design campaign's inception, we're still continuing the fight against Digital Restrictions Management (DRM), the practice of imposing technological restrictions that control what users can do with digital media -- and won't back down until we've won. For our eighteenth International Day Against DRM (IDAD), we're targeting an issue that thousands of computer users around the world will face, whether

IDAD may be over, but the fight isn't. Read a summary of this year's activities, and learn how you can continue to take action to help end DRM.

BOSTON, Massachusetts, USA -- Tuesday, November 28, 2023 -- The Free Software Foundation (FSF) has announced its Defective by Design campaign's 17th annual International Day Against DRM (IDAD). It will protest uses of Digital Restrictions Management technology's hold over public libraries around the world, exemplified by corporations like OverDrive and Follett Destiny. IDAD will take place

The sixteenth International Day Against DRM (IDAD) is next week, and all of us that contribute to the Defective by Design campaign are calling on you to help us send a message to purveyors of Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) around the world, letting them know that DRM is unacceptable in any and all of its forms. This year's Day Against DRM will be held next Friday, on December 16, 2022.

Eagle-eyed readers of a technical document recently published by Intel, which details upcoming changes to their line of processors, noticed that the Software Guard Extension (SGX) will soon be deprecated. The SGX provided the ability for certain areas of system memory on Intel computers to be dedicated to encrypting and decrypting information, and therefore private -- off-limits to the rest of the system in a so-called "secure enclave."

Our fifteenth annual International Day Against DRM (IDAD), might be over, but the fight against Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) continues. Each year, the Free Software Foundation (FSF) and its Defective by Design campaign distill what we've learned throughout the year in our anti-DRM activism on one special day: a day especially supportive to

BOSTON, Massachusetts, USA -- Friday, December 10th, 2021 -- A global community of activists is taking part today in the Defective by Design campaign's 15th annual International Day Against DRM (IDAD) to protest use of Digital Restrictions Management, a widespread technology that places unethical restrictions on how people access digital media. Though from different backgrounds, countries,

The fifteenth International Day Against DRM (IDAD) is next week, and we here at the Defective by Design campaign are calling on you to help us send a message to purveyors of Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) around the world, letting them know that DRM is unacceptable in any and all of its forms. This year's Day Against DRM will be held next Friday, on December 10, 2021.

Each year, the Free Software Foundation (FSF) stages the International Day Against DRM (IDAD), and this year, we want to work with the community more closely than ever before and bridge the gap between anti-DRM activists, those involved with the software freedom movement, and everyday individuals. Together, we'll stand up against DRM on December 10th.

We have some good news to share. The FSF was one of several activist organizations pushing for exemptions to the anticircumvention rules under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) that make breaking Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) illegal, even for ethical and legitimate purposes. We helped bring public awareness to a process that is too often only a conversation between lawyers and bureaucrats. As of late last week, there are now multiple new exemptions that will help ease some of the acute abuse DRM inflicts on users. However, the

December 4th was the Free Software Foundation (FSF) and its Defective by Design (DBD) campaign's fourteenth International Day Against DRM (IDAD), and we couldn't have done it without your help. Given

There's no time like the present to stand up against Digital Restrictions Management (DRM). Fittingly, today is the

Although many of us are in quarantine, that doesn't mean that we have to cease our fight against Digital Restrictions Management (DRM).

The United States Copyright Office is now accepting comments in support of exemptions to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's (DMCA) anti-circumvention provisions, and we need your help by December 7th to ensure that every new exemption is granted.

This is a guest post by Rory Price. Rory is a science fiction author and free software supporter who releases much of his own work under free licenses. You can visit his homepage at https://roryprice.net.

Even though we're still in the midst of the pandemic, the holiday season is upon us, and with it comes the time people around the world give gifts to show their appreciation. Companies are starting their sales early this year, and as usual are focusing heavily on tech gifts. But before you buy anything, you should make sure that that gift isn't putting your friend or family member under unjust control.

The fourteenth International Day Against DRM (IDAD) is coming soon, and the Defective by Design (DbD) campaign needs your help to spread the word. This year's annual day in protest of Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) will be on December 4th, 2020, and will focus on streaming services' unjust use of DRM. We need your

The following blog post is by FSF fall intern Leonardo Vignini. To read it in English, go to https://www.defectivebydesign.org/blog/what_has_happened_and_where_weve_come_short_history_drm.

The United States Copyright Office has released a report recommending updates to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), while leaving anti-circumvention rules unchanged.

The following blog post is by FSF fall intern Leonardo Vignini. For more information on interning with the FSF, please click here. To read this post in Italian, see https://www.defectivebydesign.org/blog/cos%C3%A8_successo_e_dove_siamo_arrivati_una_breve_storia_del_drm.

As most of us are cooped up in our homes due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it's somewhat natural that we turn to online movies, music, and other media to help pass the time. For most people, this involves turning to Internet streaming for convenient, "all-in-one" services that promise an endless array of recommendations to while away the hours.

It's common to feel a little uneasy when it comes to Disney. Most people know that the mouse didn't get to where he is now by himself, and that behind him there are more shadowy people wearing suits than their cheerful advertising admits. Likewise, the intricate control and extensive surveillance they have over their parks can be seen as a playground for dystopia.

It seems like only yesterday that we were wrapping up the 2018 round of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) anti-circumvention exemption process. As we've written time and again:

For many of us, the holiday season is about bringing our loved ones together to celebrate. Most of the time, this includes giving them a neatly wrapped present or two. We go through the buying process carefully, using a friend or family member's likes and dislikes to sift through the Web and find the right item. But when choosing a tech gift, we need to be careful to give them something that doesn't harm them instead.