MIT panel on the W3C's decision to make DRM part of the Web's "open" standards

Cory Doctorow 3:56 am Wed Apr 6, 2016

The World Wide Web Consortium spent more than 20 years making standards that remove barriers to developers who want to make Web technology; now, for the first time, they're creating a standard that makes it a crime to make Web technology without permission from the entertainment industry.

They're standardizing a DRM system called EME, and thanks to laws like the US DMCA (and its global equivalents), you can only make a browser that can receive videos restricted with EME if you get permission from the entertainment companies that are pushing the standard at the consortium.

Joi Ito, who runs the MIT Media Lab and sits on Sony's board; Richard Stallman, who founded the Free Software Foundation; Harry Halpin from the W3C; and Danny O'Brien from the World Wide Web Consortium did a panel at the Media Lab during the W3C's last face-to-face meeting.

At EFF, we asked the W3C to adopt a "covenant" — a legally binding agreement among the members — not to use the DMCA to persecute security researchers nor to go after organizations or people who implement the technology without permission.

Tim Berners-Lee, founder of the W3C and inventor of the Web, decided to allow the continued work on DRM without even this minimal protection for the open Web.

A recent discussion about DRM with Richard Stallman, Danny O'Brien and Harry Halpin
[Joi Ito]

Why I won't buy an Ipad: ten years later

Ten years ago, Apple released the Ipad. I was in a hotel room in Seattle, jetlagged and awake at 4AM while my wife and daughter slept. READ THE REST
Brexit means the UK will shelve the EU Copyright Directive (for now)

Last year, the EU adopted the incredibly controversial Copyright Directive (it passed by only five votes, and afterwards 10 MEPs said they'd got confused and pushed the wrong buttons!): now,… READ THE REST
Three years after the W3C approved a DRM standard, it's no longer possible to make a functional indie browser

Back in 2017, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) approved the most controversial standard in its long history: Encrypted Media Extensions, or EME, which enabled Netflix and other big media… READ THE REST
Short Post, just one paragraph

Dessert cheesecake wafer bear claw fruitcake. Fruitcake chupa chups donut candy canes marzipan. Apple pie sweet roll tart chocolate cake macaroon marshmallow carrot cake gummi bears sweet. Pastry sugar plum… READ THE REST
Save 50% on a 1-year subscription to Dashlane's premium password manager

We all know vital information about ourselves and our private digital accounts can be compromised by cybercriminals. However, many would be frightened to know just how compromised they and their… READ THE REST
The Bite Helper removes the itch of a mosquito bite in seconds

While mosquitoes have certainly earned their title as the deadliest animal on earth, their impact on most of our lives is usually a lot less consequential. But even though they… READ THE REST