Defective by Design

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.

Defective by Design is calling on you to stand up against Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) on the International Day Against DRM (IDAD) on October 12th, 2019. This year we will be focusing specifically on everyone's right to read, particularly by urging publishers to free students and educators from the unnecessary and cumbersome restrictions that make their access to necessary course materials far more difficult.

Salima has a problem: her Boulangism toaster is locked down with software that ensures that it will only toast bread sold to her by the Boulangism company… and as Boulangism has gone out of business, there's no way to buy authorized bread. Thus, Salima can no longer have toast.

The Defective by Design (DbD) campaign is a project of the Free Software Foundation (FSF). In an effort to expand our work towards a world without Digital Restrictions Management (DRM), we are

The anti-circumvention provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) are still a threat. The latest round of its exemptions process showed some successes, and where the work needs to continue.

As the end-of-the-year gift-giving season approaches, we have a dilemma: how do we give the people in our lives the gifts they want without subjecting them to software that violates their user freedoms? So many new gadgets are loaded with digital gremlins that can take all of the fun out of the holidays, using proprietary software to sneak surveillance, Digital Restrictions Management (DRM), and other malware in along with the functions we actually want these items to serve.

Thank you everyone for helping to make September 18th another successful International Day Against DRM (IDAD)! Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) is an issue we have to face every day. In rallying together for a single day against DRM, we sent a powerful message: DRM is just wrong and we can live in a society without it.

Digital Restrictions Management exists all over the world in all sorts of technologies. In addition to media files, like music and film, we can find DRM on the Web and enshrined in Web standards. As a Web standard, its use is recommended by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), making it not only easier, but expected for all media files on the Web to be locked down with DRM.

We're less than two weeks away from International Day Against DRM (IDAD), an annual day of action and celebration against Digital Restrictions Management (DRM). It's happening this September 18th, all over the world and the Web. IDAD is the day to stand together and loudly declare our stance against DRM. This is your chance to join a worldwide movement of people standing for digital freedom.

International Day Against DRM (IDAD) is coming up! In just under a month, on September 18th, we'll be celebrating what the world could look like without DRM. We need your help to make sure the messages gets all the attention it needs.

We've been working hard preparing for IDAD 2018, and hope you will join us for this year's action.

How to get involved

RSVP to IDAD 2018!

It's been ten years since Apple opened the App Store. This created a whole new industry through which third party app creators and Apple themselves found new ways to threaten user freedom with technical tricks and legal loopholes.