[Wolves] List

[Simon Morris]

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

Shane M. Coughlan wrote:

> 
> I agree with you that education is the key problem.  On both sides of
> the debate regarding DRM we need a lot of education.  This problem is
> one that spans political, legal and economic fields.  To address it
> correctly will take a substantial consultation and discussion process.
> 

Unfortunately this process (which factors in corporate bodies on one
side and volunteer organisations such as the EFF and FSF/FSFE on the
other) is going to be very hard to get setup in any meaningful way.

There is little motivation for governments to act against these
restrictive practices (and looking at some of the practices employed by
governments here and abroad they might even welcome a tightening of our
digital liberties) and whilst this process stalls corporations are
motivated by the bathloads of cash they make everyday.

I found your statement that Governments being "disenfranchised"  by
corporations that have control over digital rights thought provoking.
Maybe the Government need open and free standards more than even they
realise. In fact I am convinced they do.

> I'm disappointed in companies that are trying to take advantage of
> current ignorance over the implications of restricting digital access
> with 'Trusted Computing' etc., because I believe these technological
> implementations will potentially remove important freedoms with far
> greater reach than playing an MP3 on a generic player.  We're looking at
> a situation where companies want to legitimize their ability to control
> individual's actions.  That would be a huge restriction of political
> freedom in the digital sphere, and would therefore set a new and
> potentially dangerous precedent.

What can we do to make "my grandmother" (as the archtypical end user)
aware that her rights are going to be infringed if she doesn't stand up
and be counted against things like this?

~sm

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.4.2 (GNU/Linux)
Comment: Using GnuPG with Thunderbird - http://enigmail.mozdev.org

iD8DBQFELPj2tjeLJb8KijsRAjMWAKCGxNbsrHdaNmUlKUlPepPj6ooGYgCfaJ1C
VMINagflfgmKCWQo2WP+fj4=
=l7lZ
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----