The International Day Against DRM is an opportunity to 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 requires users to give-up control of their computers or that restricts access to digital data and media.
Interested in planning an event? Please join the DRM Elimination crew discussion list. If you're looking for help with the organizing process, don't hesitate to send an email asking if there are others in your area -- the list has people all over the world. Once you've decided to host an event, please add it to this page, along with any necessary contact information. It's good to add it as soon as you have a date and contact info, even if you're still working out the details. Make sure to include the what, where, and when, along with your contact info for potential attendees. If you host one, please send photos to info@defectivebydesign.org.
DRM Around the World
What's the status of Digital Restrictions Management in your country? Any landmark legislation or lawsuits the campaign should know about it, or upcoming opportunities to raise awareness on the issues? Let us know by using the space below.
Once you're finished, let us know on the #dbd IRC channel or on the DRM Elimination Crew mailing list.
Sample entry
Country: Freedonia
DRM awareness level: People in Freedonia are generally annoyed with how DRM can restrict them to copy files, but don't know about "DRM" as such.
DRM legislation specific to my country: Tycoon Media Act
Upcoming opportunities for the campaign: Cultural festival in April in which many DRM streaming services plan to participate.
Any extra needs, or can you volunteer to help?: English isn't widely spoken, but I could help with translation.
Real entries
Country: Portugal
DRM legislation specific to my country: In 2017, it was approved in Portugal a correction to the DRM in the Copyright Law, that allows Portuguese citizens to circumvent DRM for legal purposes. In bold, the part that was added to the law:
""Article 217º […] the expression “technological measures” means any technology, device or component that, in the normal course of its operation, is designed to prevent or restrict acts, in respect of protected works, that are not exceptions to the copyright, provided in the n. 2 of the article 75º, in the article 81º, in the nº4 of the article 152º and in the nº1 of the article […]""
We published an article detailing the process of getting this correction into the law here.
Any extra needs, or can you volunteer to help?: We can volunteer to help other European countries to go through the process of figuring out how was the EU Copyright Directive of 2001 transposed to their national legislation, and how to adjust that transposition in order to reach the same effect we got in Portugal. You can reach us at contacto(at)ansol.org .
Country: Brazil
DRM awareness level: People are not aware of the implications and seem to foster it normally.
DRM legislation specific to my country: Article 107 of Federal Law 9,610 from 1998 allows DRM to exist and be enforced.
Upcoming opportunities for the campaign: I don't know if there will be DRM streaming services participating, but there is a national music festival to be held in 2021 at Bento Gonçalves and also the Lollapalooza music festival.
Any extra needs, or can you volunteer to help?: English isn't widely spoken, but I could help with translation. There is no FSF sister organization formally registered in Brazil --- while there is Associação Software Livre.Org, its bylaw describes it as having goals to foster “open source”, so its unknown if they will offer help.
Blog posts
Did you write a IDAD-themed blog post? Share it with us and others by including it in the section below.
Join the announcements list and tell us where you live so we can let you know about events in your area.
Online: Join us in standing up against Netflix's use of DRM, an informal BigBlueButton discussion on anti-DRM activism, and be sure to sign on for support of our comments to DMCA anti-circumvention exceptions.
The Free Software Foundation (FSF) is a nonprofit with a worldwide mission to promote computer user freedom.
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