[sf-lug] [Fwd: [FSF] Day Against DRM: May 4]

[jim]

   anybody know about this? there's usually local 
participation. what sf-bay area groups might be 
active in this? 



-------- Forwarded Message --------
From: Peter Brown <info at fsf.org>
Reply-To: info at fsf.org
To: info-fsf at fsf.org
Subject: [FSF] Day Against DRM: May 4
Date: Thu, 25 Feb 2010 21:33:22 -0500

## Day Against DRM: Tuesday, May 4th 2010

"When companies organize to design products to restrict us, we have to
organize to defeat them" -- FSF president Richard Stallman

BOSTON, Massachusetts, USA -- Thursday, February 25, 2010 -- Social
justice and online rights groups today announced that Tuesday May 4,
2010 will be this year's International Day Against Digital Restrictions
Management (DRM).

The Day Against DRM will unite a wide range of projects, public interest
organizations, web sites and individuals in an effort to raise public
awareness to the danger of technology that restricts users’ access to
movies, music, literature and software; indeed, all forms of digital
data. Many DRM schemes monitor a user's activities and report what they
see to the corporations that impose the DRM.

As part of its Defective by Design anti-DRM campaign
(http://defectivebydesign.org), the Free Software Foundation (FSF) will
be helping to coordinate anti-DRM activists all over the world to
mobilize the public against this anti-social technology. They have also
published an article detailing a short history of a "Decade in DRM" at
<http://www.defectivebydesign.org/decade-in-drm>.

"DRM attacks your freedom at two levels. Its purpose is to attack your
freedom by restricting your use of your copies of published works. Its
means is to force you to use proprietary software, which means you don't
control what it does. When companies organize to design products to
restrict us, we have to organize to defeat them," said FSF president
Richard Stallman.

Jim Killock, executive director of the Open Rights Group said, "DRM is a
disaster for legitimate uses of music, film and books. They are designed
to lock people into specific software and devices, destroying your
rights to free speech uses like criticism, education and review. DRM
means you lose control, and are at the mercy of vendors."

Richard Esguerra of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a supporter of
the Day Against DRM, said, "Informed technologists and activists were
instrumental in exposing DRM's harms back when most DRM was anticopying
software. But now, DRM is evolving as companies seek to restrict far
more than just users' ability to copy files. The International Day
Against DRM is a fresh opportunity to rise to the challenge yet again
and fight for technology freedom."

More events, supporters, and participants for the "Day Against DRM" will
be announced as the date approaches. Organizations and individuals that
want to be involved can contact info at defectivebydesign.org or visit
<http://defectivebydesign.org/> to sign up and follow the campaign.


### About the Free Software Foundation

The Free Software Foundation, founded in 1985, is dedicated to promoting
computer users' right to use, study, copy, modify, and redistribute
computer programs. The FSF promotes the development and use of free (as
in freedom) software -- particularly the GNU operating system and its
GNU/Linux variants -- and free documentation for free software. The FSF
also helps to spread awareness of the ethical and political issues of
freedom in the use of software, and its Web sites, located at fsf.org
and gnu.org, are an important source of information about GNU/Linux.
Donations to support the FSF's work can be made at
<http://donate.fsf.org>. Its headquarters are in Boston, MA, USA.

### About the Open Rights Group

The Open Rights Group is a digital rights advocacy group based in the
UK. It aims to increase awareness of digital rights issues, to help
foster grassroots activity and to preserve and extend civil liberties in
the digital age <http://www.openrightsgroup.org>.

### Media Contacts

Holmes Wilson
Campaigns Manager
Free Software Foundation
PHONE +1 (614) 465 6371
<campaigns at fsf.org>

###



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