Internet freedom advocates decry HTML5's in-built digital rights management

A digital rights group has formally opposed a proposal to include digital rights management (DRM) in HTML5, saying this could stifle Web innovation and deny access to online content.

 

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) voiced concern over the draft proposal from the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) for a DRM standard that would involve encrypted media.

 

"This proposal stands apart from all other aspects of HTML standardization: it defines a new 'black box' for the entertainment industry, fenced off from control by the browser and end-user," said EFF International Director Danny O'Brien.

 

"While this plan might soothe Hollywood content providers who are scared of technological evolution, it could also create serious impediments to interoperability and access for all," O'Brien added.

 

The objection was the EFF's first act as a full member of W3C, even as it seeks to broaden discussion of the consequences of accepting DRM-based proposals like Encrypted Media Extensions (EME) for the future of the Web.

 

He also argued DRM standards may not only fail in their intention to protect media content, but may even trigger legal rows that "chill the speech of technologists, lock down technology, and violate property rights by seizing control of personal computers from their owners."

 

One outcome could be a Web where "images and pages cannot be saved or searched, ads cannot be blocked, and innovative new browsers cannot compete without explicit permission from big content companies," he added.

 

EFF Senior Staff Technologist Seth Schoen said the EME proposal threatens to "shut out open source developers and competition, throw away interoperability, and lock in legacy business models."

 

"The W3C needs to develop a policy regarding DRM and similar proposals, or risk having its own work and the future of the Web become buried in the demands of businesses that would rather it never existed in the first place," said Schoen.  — TJD, GMA News