In our sixteenth annual International Day Against DRM (IDAD), we
stood up for the freedom to share cultural works, continuing our fight
against Digital Restrictions Management (DRM). Each year, the
Free Software Foundation (FSF) rallies anti-DRM advocates from all
over the world for a day of action against digital restriction. This
year was no exception, building on the recent efforts we've made in
our year-end fundraiser to draw attention to something vitally
important for the free software movement and cultural endeavors alike:
the freedom to share.
In addition to our call to use DRM-free media as a
springboard for starting a conversation about DRM with a friend or
loved ones, we took to the streets of Boston to interview passersby on
how they felt about digital sharing. At first, it seemed like a
strange request to our interviewees, but its supposed "strangeness"
highlights the success corporations like Disney and Netflix have had
on the public consciousness. Just what does make a digital file so
different that we're barred from sharing it with a friend in person,
or passing it down the family line like our favorite books? The
results that we received were interesting to say the least, and we'll
have more to say about them in the future.
Our interview with Muhammad marks the first of this small
series. We'll be publishing others to our social media accounts
and Peertube channel in the form of a playlist, and naturally,
they're free for you to download, modify and share for use in your own
anti-DRM advocacy. We'll release three more interviews in the coming
weeks, building forward momentum in the fight against DRM.
Our associate membership program is what helps us educate the world
about the harms of digital restriction and the value of digital
autonomy for years, and dues from the membership program make up our
budget by an overwhelming percentage. It's also what's helped us to
stage the International Day Against DRM, and powers all of the FSF's
other activism. Can you join this effort as an FSF associate
member? It will enable us to continue to create new resources and
help carry our work against DRM into the future.
The more members we can count, the better we can work towards a world
free of digital restriction. This starts with achieving our fall goal
of 455 new members this year-end. Associate members can select a
special gift during this fundraiser, and enjoy all the member
benefits, which include merchandise discounts, a 16GB bootable
membership card, and use of our videoconferencing server.
IDAD may be over this year, but our work against DRM continues. We
invite you to join us in campaigning against DRM in whatever way
interests you, whether that's suggesting edits and making corrections
to the Guide to DRM-free Living, joining our strategy discussions
in the #dbd IRC channel on Libera.Chat, spreading the message
about the Defective by Design campaign far and wide through the use of
our printable resources, or by continuing to speak out for your
rights wherever you can. We're always on the lookout for anti-DRM
success stories as well, so if you've had some results you'd like to
share with us, please write us at [email protected]. And as always,
thank you to the participating organizations who joined us for
this year's event!
Together, let's make sure that the freedom to share is secured for
future generations: whether that's code passed from developer to user,
books or music passed down through the family, or sharing art that's
impacted us with a friend. Just as locking down media with DRM is a
fundamentally antisocial (and anticultural) act, choosing to do the
opposite can only bring benefit to human society.
