EU Worried About DRM's Privacy Implications

from the privacy?--what's-that? dept

It appears that the EU is taking at least a slightly more thorough look at the deeper issues related to intellectual property protection. After all, they've (for the time being) fought off the issue of software patents, and are now suggesting that digital rights management technology can have implications for an individual's privacy. Of course, they don't necessarily say what should be done about it, but it's an important issue to at least bring up. In the past, when you bought something, that was it. No one was tracking what you did with it. However, with DRM and its need to constantly monitor you and make sure you're not doing anything "wrong," it's certainly possible for companies to start monitoring what you do post-purchase much more thoroughly. For some people, this might not be a bad thing, but it's certainly an issue that doesn't get discussed enough when it comes to questions concerning DRM.