Is The FTC Interested In Protecting Consumers From Bad DRM?
from the that-would-be-interesting... dept
We're so used to hearing the government fall for the industry propaganda about the need for DRM that it's almost... shocking, to hear that the FTC is even willing to consider the question of whether or not it should be involved in protecting consumers from DRM. However, as Game Politics is noting, that question appears to be on the agenda of an FTC town hall meeting about DRM in Seattle in March. Of course, it sounds as though that question is just a preliminary one, as the full agenda has yet to be set. That means, it could have just been put there by a random staffer charged with filling out a few bullet points about what to talk about concerning DRM. Still, it's at least interesting to see a hint of recognition from the government that DRM has its downsides.Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: drm, ftc, protection
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
Consumer Bill of Rights
DRM has never and will never prevent piracy. DRM has never been about piracy. It is purely a case of greedy big media trying to force consumers to pay more than once for the right to use the same piece of media. DRM is both logically and morally wrong. It's about time the FTC did something to protect consumers from the practice.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Nothen more, nothen less
I WANT MY MONEY BACK EA GAMES AND ABOUT $600 FOR THE TIME IT TOOK ME TO REMOVE SECUROM/VIRUS FROM MY PC.
DRM SUCKS and only sucks less than those that use it.
To hell with you ....
SONY(SECUROM)
EA GAMES
RIAA
MPAA
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
BAD DRM is like the more recent versions of SECURom, DRM that harms your system and is virus/rootkit like.
Annoying DRM, while still bad, is more of an annoyance. This would be like Disk Checks. While they can be cracked by people with skill, they can't be by the average user. While the "Annoying DRM" is a bit of a pain, and I'm not particularly fond of it, I could accept it if the BAD DRM went away.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Whill there be only one town hall?
It's not surprising that the FTC may *finally* town hall meeting on this topic. However, the location piques my interest and makes me question if the conversations will be representative of the actual state of affairs from a consumer perspective. Hopefully FTC will seek a broad spectrum of feedback, and there will be additional public meetings across the country.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Just don't buy it
Vote with your money!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Dum, da, da, da, DUMB!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
"Interested parties should include both a statement detailing their expertise on the issues to be addressed at the Town Hall, and complete contact information. The Commission will select panelists based on their expertise and on the need to represent a range of views."
Perhaps someone from techdirt might want to consider being a panelist.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
The event should be called "DRM Sales 101"
I can't wait to see the "experts" on the panel list.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]