James Delahunty
21 Feb 2007 16:04
The British Government has refused to ban the use of Digital Rights Management (DRM) software included on music, movie and software downloads. A call to ban these digital restriction enforcements was rejected by the government after 1,400 consumers signed an e-petition. The petition was posted on a government website setup to let anybody start a petition on an issue important to them.
It called for the ban of DRM use because it "locks users into using a particular service", and makes it impossible for users to exercise their freedom to choose between competing products. It had acknowledged the costs involved in producing digital content and distributing it, but said it should be done in a way where the buyer had control over what they could do with their media.
Neil Holmes, a member of the Defective By Design anti-DRM group, started the petition. In response to the petition, the Government stated it has no plans to ban the use of DRM and that companies should "be able to continue to protect their content in this way." However, the response did say that care has to be taken to ensure that DRM does not damage the needs and rights of consumers.
Source:
BBC News