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What's Actually Wrong With DRM In HTML5?

Posted by Soulskill on from the same-thing-that's-wrong-with-mayonnaise-on-a-hamburger dept.

kxra writes "The Free Culture Foundation has posted a thorough response to the most common and misinformed defenses of the W3C's Extended Media Extensions (EME) proposal to inject DRM into HTML5. They join the EFF and FSF in a call to send a strong message to the W3C that DRM in HTML5 undermines the W3C's self-stated mission to make the benefits of the Web 'available to all people, whatever their hardware, software, network infrastructure, native language, culture, geographical location, or physical or mental ability.' The FCF counters the three most common myths by unpacking some quotes which explain that 1.) DRM is not about protecting copyright. That is a straw man. DRM is about limiting the functionality of devices and selling features back in the form of services. 2.) DRM in HTML5 doesn't obsolete proprietary, platform-specific browser plug-ins; it encourages them. 3.) the Web doesn't need big media; big media needs the Web." Also: the FSF has announced that a coalition of 27 web freedom organizations have sent a joint letter to the W3C opposing DRM support in HTML5.

4 of 447 comments (clear)

  1. Re: Downs Syndrome is no joke, but you are. by geek · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    Funny that you don't mention the bush tax cuts that keep getting extended.

    You mean those tax cuts that lapsed in January of this year? The ones where my wife and I probably wont get a tax return above 1500$ this year?

  2. Re:Downs Syndrome is no joke, but you are. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Take 100% of the wealth generated during the "recovery", and a sum equal to 21% of that from the poorest 99% of the population.

  3. Re: Downs Syndrome is no joke, but you are. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Although the results you suggest are the intuitive results of raising the minimum wage, the economics aren't actually that straightforward. It's clear that the minimum wage can be too high causing the detrimental effects you describe, but it can also be too low. See Wikipedia's page on the minimum wage for a starting point on reading about the debate. Also note that due to the very different structure of labor negotiations in different countries, "minimum wage" in some countries in Europe is actually not set by law but instead by an agreement between representatives of labor and representatives of business (err... whatever that means).

  4. Re: Downs Syndrome is no joke, but you are. by geek · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Of course I know the differences. But you're making the stupid assessment that the Bush tax cuts are still in place. Which they are not. So who's the "fucking stupid" one exactly? Yeah that's you.