DRM

News

Anobii CEO urges publishers to drop DRM on ebooks

Speaking at the Digital Book World Conference in New York last week, Matteo Berlucchi, CEO of Anobii, urged major book publishers to abandon their use of DRM on ebooks. HarperCollins, Penguin, and Random House each have a stake in the ebook retail and social networking company based in the UK.

Blogger Jeremy Greenfield reports that Berlucchi took specific aim at Amazon's use of DRM, stating that "Amazon uses DRM to lock people in," and warning individuals that once you are swindled by Amazon, if you later want to "drop out of Kindle, you lose all your books". Berlucchi also argued that "ebooks without DRM technology are easily shareable between users, just like print books," and therefore, "books without DRM are more valuable to readers."

While there are some points in which we do not agree 100% with Berlucchi (we encourage you to read John Sullivan's article on ebook lending), we still applaud the CEO for sticking his neck out there and urging large publishers to drop DRM!


defectivebydesign.org | 02-Feb-2012 22:11

Anobii CEO urges publishers to drop DRM on ebooks

Speaking at the Digital Book World Conference in New York last week, Matteo Berlucchi, CEO of Anobii, urged major book publishers to abandon their use of DRM on ebooks. HarperCollins, Penguin, and Random House each have a stake in the ebook retail and social networking company based in the UK.

Blogger Jeremy Greenfield reports that Berlucchi took specific aim at Amazon's use of DRM, stating that "Amazon uses DRM to lock people in," and warning individuals that once you are swindled by Amazon, if you later want to "drop out of Kindle, you lose all your books". Berlucchi also argued that "ebooks without DRM technology are easily shareable between users, just like print books," and therefore, "books without DRM are more valuable to readers."

While there are some points in which we do not agree 100% with Berlucchi (we encourage you to read John Sullivan's article on ebook lending), we still applaud the CEO for sticking his neck out there and urging large publishers to drop DRM!


defectivebydesign.org | 01-Feb-2012 22:07

Louis CK: Live at the Beacon Theater

Boston's Louis CK has a new show on his website, but he's doing things a little differently with this one. To quote his site: "No DRM, no regional restrictions, no crap. You can download this file, play it as much as you like, burn it to a DVD, whatever."

This is an adult show with adult themes. Not for children. 18+

https://buy.louisck.net/purchase -- $5 for the show. 1.2Gb download.


defectivebydesign.org | 12-Dec-2011 22:34

Cyber Monday Shopping Guide

Thinking of doing some holiday shopping? We hope that when purchasing for loved ones and friends that you'll consider avoiding companies and products designed to restrict freedom and consider supporting companies and organizations that defend freedom.

To help you make informed shopping decision and to avoid products that are defective by design, we've put together a short 2011 Holiday Buying Guide. We will be updating the guide throughout the holiday season, so please keep coming back for new tips and suggestions.

You can help us update our holiday buying guide by emailing suggestions to info@defectivebydesign.org. Also, check out the guide we produced last year.


defectivebydesign.org | 28-Nov-2011 21:00

Holiday Buying Guide

With the holidays fast approaching, we thought a holiday buyer's guide was appropriate. People often buy expensive electronic gadgets as gifts, but many of these gadgets are bad for your freedom.

Here's our guide to the best and worst gifts this season:

Video games — With all of the big game console manufacturers supporting and using more Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) in their products, there aren't good options here. But in particular, avoid Sony, since they have been aggressively prosecuting users, and Nintendo, since they claim the right to remotely "brick" some devices..

Blu-Ray — Avoid Blu-Ray discs. They cannot be used with free software, and buying them is supporting Old Media's latest system for controlling every step of what users can do with media they buy.

Music players — For music this season, don't look to Apple for anything; all their portable music players support DRM and many devices refuse to work on GNU/Linux without serious tinkering or jailbreaking.

Cars — If you're thinking of buying a new car, be sure to avoid cars with the MyFord Touch and MyLincoln Touch software. Glitches in this proprietary software have led Ford to issue an update. This means the car can be infected with malicious software and is best avoided.

Smartphones — Replicant, the project to produce a fully free distribution of Android recently added more phones to its list of supported models. Here at the FSF, we scored a bounty of HTC Dream phones, and many of us use them as our day-to-day cell phones. These phones are still problematic, because they include a proprietary firmware that could monitor all activity on the phone, but the ability to have a fully free application environment is a great step forward.

Ebook readers — All the ebook readers sold through Amazon and Barnes & Noble use DRM and proprietary software. Even if a user manages to only use these devices to read DRM-free materials, purchase of the device includes licenses for DRM and proprietary software.

Laptops and Desktops — There are a couple of companies who will sell you a computer with a fully-free GNU/Linux distribution preinstalled. Some of these companies even donate a small amount of money to the FSF. One such company is Los Alamos Computers.

Instead of buying gifts that reward companies who restrict our freedom, consider making a donation to a charity that fights for your freedom — other than ourselves, we're especially fond of the work done by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Creative Commons, and Public Knowledge.


defectivebydesign.org | 23-Nov-2011 21:28

Cory Doctorow on the BBC's DRM plot for HDTV in the United Kingdom

Guardian article by Cory Doctorow on the BBC's dealings with Ofcom to add DRM to HDTV in the UK.


defectivebydesign.org | 14-Nov-2011 21:28

Amazon Kindle extinguishes the fire of learning

Amazon came out with their newest line of Kindle ebook readers today, including the appropriately named "Kindle Fire".

To quote their TV commercial: "The instruction we find in books is like fire. We fetch it from our neighbours, kindle it at home, communicate it to others, and it becomes the property of all."

This device does not kindle that fire -- it extinguishes it, with more of the same digital restrictions.

Let's look at the facts:

  • Amazon claims you have no right to sell or share the books you buy. They advertise a "lending" feature which, at best, allows you to lend a book one time ever, to one person, who must also be a Kindle user. You don't get to make the decision about whether you can lend a book or not -- the publisher and Amazon do. That's not sharing.

  • In fact, when people tried to cooperate to make large-scale use of the lending function, Amazon shut them down. The most prominent example of this was the web site Lendle, which is back up now, albeit with fewer features, including a feature which made it easy to lend the books you have without typing in all the titles -- a move forced on them by Amazon to discourage sharing.

  • The power exerted over its users, arbitrarily blocking lending of books and remotely removing books, is unacceptable even if they later change their minds or promise to stop doing it.

  • Amazon is working its way into public libraries and schools now, subverting the functioning of the very places they, in the above quote, claim to support.

  • Via the wireless connectivity of these devices, Amazon can hold data about everything you read.

  • Also via the connectivity, Amazon can delete books from Kindles. They have already done this multiple times. They say they won't do it anymore, but they make users sign an agreement which still gives them the authority to. They have demonstrated only reasons to doubt their word.

  • Although it is possible to use the Kindle for DRM-free materials, that is not the system that Amazon is promoting or working most actively toward. Funding Amazon's work in this area, even if you use it differently, is supporting their moves at limiting sharing and access to books.

The result: More of the same: A major threat to the shareability -- like fire -- that has enabled human culture and knowledge to advance.

Take action!
  • Send a message to Amazon's Kindle Team via Twitter -- @amazonkindle -- be wary of using Twitter directly, as it uses proprietary JavaScript. Using your Twitter account via identi.ca is a good choice.
  • Contact Amazon customer services: Chat, phone and email support here and ask them to drop DRM from the Kindle.

defectivebydesign.org | 28-Sep-2011 21:59

xkcd on Sharing...

If you haven't seen Sharing by xkcd, it's worth a look.

In the strip, some friends discover a tree with a USB port sticking out of it. Upon connecting a computer to it, they discover an ebook -- Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree, as a DRM'd Amazon Kindle file.

The book cannot be opened and sharing is not allowed.


defectivebydesign.org | 28-Sep-2011 17:02

Keep the pressure on Barnes and Noble

A few weeks ago, we asked you to reach out to Barnes & Noble about their Nook eBook reader. Many of you did, and while Barnes & Noble have yet to formally respond, we can continue to put pressure on them.

The current news is that Amazon plans to launch a color Android device, much like the Nook color. If we continue to put pressure on B&N, we can use this increased pressure from Amazon as a reason to make the Nook a device for everyone, not just large book publishers.

Read more, including a selection of your quotes to Barnes and Noble

read more


defectivebydesign.org | 14-Sep-2011 23:22

Let Barnes and Noble know the Nook is defective by design

American book retailer Barnes & Noble have launched the third model of their Nook ebook reader. We've previously written about the Nook, but until recently the Nook did not get much attention due to the limited options available.

Things have changed and now the Nook represents a real threat to users because of its invasive DRM, close relationship with DRM champions Adobe, and because of its use of the Android operating system -- which might lead many to think the Nook is not defective by design.

Currently two models of the Nook are available -- a color Nook which has garnered widespread popularity with the Android hacking community, and a cheaper black-and-white model to compete with Amazon's Kindle.

And sadly, that's what the Nook amounts to -- a cookie-cutter Kindle-type device. The Kindle has begun experimenting with DRM-free books, but the Nook store has yet to catch up in even this regard. Magazine publishers with a technical audience, such as 2600 Magazine, continue to keep us informed of their own experiments in electronic publishing, and attempts to keep DRM out of their publication. For now, their yearly Hacker Digest Volumes remain the best way to get the magazine without DRM or DRM-capable devices such as the Nook or Kindle. But overall, the industry continues trending toward use of DRM on ebooks.

While The Nook itself is a fairly standard Android device under the hood, and as such could be loaded with ebook reader applications avaible from the F-Droid marketplace such as FBReader, which supports all the major formats for DRM-free ebooks and some lesser known ones too, Barnes & Noble has shown no interest in this direction.


defectivebydesign.org | 09-Sep-2011 18:53

Spotify is Defective by Design

The music streaming service Spotify uses Digital Restrictions Management (DRM); push back by saying NO to Spotify's invitations.

After being available in Europe for some time, Spotify has launched in the United States with a publicity campaign inviting people to use the service.

Our conclusion: Spotify is using DRM to prevent things legally permitted even by overly strict US copyright law, making Spotify defective by design.

Spotify works by having users register, choose a plan ranging from $0 to $10 a month and installing a piece of proprietary software used to enforce DRM

Spotify's software does all the things DRM usually does. Music is streamed to its users -- and cached on the user's drive -- in an encrypted format, which is then decrypted by the proprietary client. Spotify uses this control to enforce arbitrary rules on its users. For example: you can't save music to listen to it later or elsewhere, you can't take a snippet of a song and use it for something else like a presentation or review. And while Spotify makes a fanfare of the fact that users can opt out of the otherwise-required advertising by subscribing for a monthly fee, there is no way for users to opt out of DRM.

Technically, Spotify's use of the Ogg Vorbis codec under the surface leads us to the conclusion that Spotify could easily be a website using HTML5, removing the need for any kind of program to be installed.

A group of Swedish developers have figured out how the Spotify software works, and have created a limited alternative to Spotify's client. While this client is free software, its limited nature will lead many people to seek out the proprietary client, and Spotify could block this program at any time.

Take action!

  • Spotify asks you to send them a little message to get an invite to the service. We've created a template for a real paper letter you can use to respond to them by mail.

  • In the USA, send your letter to: Daniel Ek, Spotify, 76 9th Avenue, Suite 1110, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10011

  • And for everyone else, send your letter to: Alison Bonny, Spotify, Golden House, 30 Great Pulteney Street, London, W1F 9NN, UK

Edit your own copy of the letter using LibreOffice.

You can see the letters we've sent here: USA and UK.

And follow it up

  • @eldsjal is the Twitter account of the CEO of Spotify, Daniel Ek, and @alisonbonny is the Head of Spotify's Press Division. Tell them we want Spotify without DRM! You could say: "@eldsjal, @alisonbonny I'm politely declining the invitation from @Spotify because of DRM, http://defectivebydesign.org/spotify @SpotifyUSA" -- remember, you don't need to use the Twitter website directly when you do this; you can instead connect your Twitter account to your Identi.ca account and send it that way. Or use a local free software client, such as Gwibber or HeyBuddy (this way you avoid Twitter's proprietary JavaScript).

  • Send an email -- daniel@spotify.com seems to work, but CC press@spotify.com just in case, and remember to- BCC us on all those emails too at info@defectivebydesign.org.

  • Share this action with others! When you read news stories about Spotify, make sure to leave a comment warning people about DRM.


defectivebydesign.org | 18-Aug-2011 18:54

Let Barnes & Noble know that the Nook is defective by design

American book retailer Barnes & Noble have launched the third model of their Nook ebook reader. We've previously written about the Nook, but until recently the Nook did not get much attention due to the limited options available.

Things have changed and now the Nook represents a real threat to users because of its invasive DRM, close relationship with DRM champions Adobe, and because of its use of the Android operating system -- which might lead many to think the Nook is not defective by design.

Currently two models of the Nook are available -- a color Nook which has garnered widespread popularity with the Android hacking community, and a cheaper black-and-white model to compete with Amazon's Kindle.

And sadly, that's what the Nook amounts to -- a cookie-cutter Kindle-type device. The Kindle has begun experimenting with DRM-free books, but the Nook store has yet to catch up in even this regard. Magazine publishers with a technical audience, such as 2600 Magazine, continue to keep us informed of their own experiments in electronic publishing, and attempts to keep DRM out of their publication. For now, their yearly Hacker Digest Volumes remain the best way to get the magazine without DRM or DRM-capable devices such as the Nook or Kindle. But overall, the industry continues trending toward use of DRM on ebooks.

While The Nook itself is a fairly standard Android device under the hood, and as such could be loaded with ebook reader applications avaible from the F-Droid marketplace such as FBReader, which supports all the major formats for DRM-free ebooks and some lesser known ones too, Barnes & Noble has shown no interest in this direction.

Take action!
defectivebydesign.org | 02-Aug-2011 20:41

Help warn people about YouTube Rentals

If you've logged into YouTube recently, you've probably noticed that they're pushing their Rental service pretty hard. YouTube Rentals brings full-length independent movies to YouTube, at a price -- they use Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) to severely limit how the videos can be used. Many devices, including certain Android phones, are unable to access them at all.

This about-face goes against exactly what made YouTube useful in the first place -- the unencumbered sharing of video.

What does this mean for YouTube users? DRM prohibits uses of the videos that even US copyright law allows. For example, DRMed videos can't be saved for later watching offline. You also can't take an excerpt of a video and use it in your video response -- something a lot of people do with existing videos.

DRM threatens to undercut some of the positive progress YouTube has been making toward supporting the freedom of its users, with HTML5 instead of proprietary Flash, and the unencumbered codec WebM.

We're calling on everyone who appreciates YouTube for what it's really for to join us in refusing to buy YouTube Rentals.

Take action!

  • If you watch YouTube videos, help send a message against DRM by refusing to "rent."

  • If you share videos on YouTube, add this to your profile page:

"Thanks for checking out my videos. Please note: I don't use YouTube Rentals, and I hope you won't either. Here's one reason why: http://defectivebydesign.org/youtube-rentals"


defectivebydesign.org | 18-Jul-2011 23:35

Holding Nintendo Accountable

Over a period of 10 days, 138 people from twenty different countries made donations of $10 or more in order to send Nintendo's President and COO, Reggie Fils-Aime, a total of 220 bricks.

Last week, volunteers for Defective By Design assembled the cardboard bricks (and had some fun doing so!). Today we are individually wrapping each brick, attaching our signed letters, so we can ship them out over the next few weeks to the Nintendo of America headquarters. At the end of our letter, we have issued the following demands:

  • Drop DRM from the Nintendo 3DS and all future Nintendo products.
  • Change your terms of service. Tracking a user's activity; claiming a copyright license on a user's data and her creative works; and bricking a user's device if she chooses to modify or use it in an "unapproved" way, are intrusive and completely unacceptable, to say the least.
  • Make a formal statement apologizing to your customers and responding to these requests.

Those of us who have sent a letter expect a response from Mr. Fils-Aime. But, we are not the only ones awaiting a response.

Our collective outcry over the digital and legal restrictions imposed by Nintendo has spread widely. Over the past two weeks, the bricks have brought much media attention to bear on the dangers of the Nintendo 3DS. Major gaming blogs and community forums; widely read sites such as PCWorld, BoingBoing and TorrentFreak; and mainstream publications such as Metro UK and the New York Times, are all looking for answers. So far Nintendo has only issued cryptic and troubling responses from unnamed spokespeople. All of these people — all of us — deserve better from Nintendo and their COO and President Reggie Fils-Aime.

In our ongoing research, we came across this additional tidbit to share with you. Nintendo is actually trying to sell its control over users as a feature. On one of their promotional pages, they write, "The Activity Log tracks both your game play activity, noting which games you've played and how long you've played them, as well as your physical activity, counting every step you take while carrying your Nintendo 3DS." The choice Nintendo leaves users with such "features" is all-or-nothing — you either allow them to track and record your every move, or you turn off the wireless entirely. While companies such as Apple and Google were recently forced to testify before the US Congress to explain having done similar (to the ire of their users), Nintendo hopes to fly under the radar, playing off the 3DS as just a "gaming device." But we know you're not fooled — help us make sure others aren't either.


defectivebydesign.org | 06-Jun-2011 23:43

Highlights from the 2011 Day Against DRM

This year's Day Against DRM on May 4th was an overall success. Thanks to all of you who participated! Some of the highlights include:

14 blog posts in 4 languages — it was especially nice to see our friends over at Creative Commons joining us in the celebration.

Events in Italy and Portugal — read our interview with Marcos Marado to find out about all of the cool things that took place in Portugal.

Three news articles — with a long article by Katherine Noyes over at PCWorld, entitled It's Time to Give Digital [Restrictions] Management the Boot.

Radio show — When the Italian group went to add themselves to the list of events happening on the 2011 Day Against DRM wiki page, they saw that the Portugal group was doing some cool things, so, they decided to contact them to be on a radio show they were hosting. The MozillaBrothers radio show interviewed Rui Seabra from Portugal; you can find the interview (in English) on the Internet Archive.

In addition to the actions we've highlighted above, there was also a lot of microblogging on Identi.ca, tagging products as ''Defective by Design'' on Amazon, as well as the myriad conversations people had all over the world, introducing many more people to the dangers of DRM.

We are definitely looking forward to next year, and we hope you are too! Sign-up now to the 2012 Day Against DRM mailing list.


defectivebydesign.org | 28-May-2011 00:50

Interview with Marcos Marado on the Day Against DRM

The DRM-PT and Associação Nacional para o Software Livre (an associate of Free Software Foundation Europe) groups recently celebrated the Day Against DRM together. They hosted a radio show, and then a free movie event followed by a presentation on DRM. The next day, at Portugal's largest book fair, they distributed flyers and started a lively debate on the subject at the presentation of a pro-DRM ebook retailer. We interviewed Marcos Marado, the creator of DRM-PT, about the recent Day Against DRM events.

You attended a thirty minute presentation by a pro-DRM ebook retailer at Portugal's largest book fair and turned it into a three hour debate (in Portuguese) about DRM issues. How did you begin the discussion?

Well, it started right in the beginning. He started by asking who has ever tried ebooks and what did they think about it, and one of us replied something like "I've tried, and the experience is great except in the cases where the book has DRM".

Not only did we make our point understood and clear to those assisting the debate, but we distributed flyers focused entirely on "DRM on ebooks", and since people going to that fair are typically book lovers, I think there was not even one flyer that wasn't read with attention. Here's a tip for everyone around the world: book lovers are receptive for the message about how DRM is wrong, if put in the right way!

Do you think people are buying products with DRM without fully understanding the restrictions placed on these products?

Of course, I think almost no one knows about this.

What kind of impact were you hoping to make with Day Against DRM?

Making people aware of the problem is the most important thing. Some will keep buying stuff with DRM, some will try to avoid it but still give money to companies like Apple or Sony, but at least they know about it. And once they know, they start noticing things about it and start questioning things. With technological-related things, non-tech-savvy people tend to think that every problem is "their fault". It's important that they know that it's not their fault that the CD or DVD doesn't play correctly on their computer, that the ebook they bought isn't readable anymore, or stuff like that.

What did you talk about in your radio show (in Portuguese)?

In summary, lots of "newbie questions" regarding DRM (what is it, why is it bad, how it affects the average person in their daily life) and some "legal questions" including the Portuguese law, its implementation of EUCD, why is it a badly written law, etc.

Prior to the actual day, what kind of smaller actions were taken to spread the word about Day Against DRM?

Some online discussions regarding the event, mailing list posts, web announcements including in the radio's webpage, and also a 3 minute spot on the radio.

Rui Seabra, the President of ANSOL was interviewed on an Italian radio show (in English and Italian) about the Day Against DRM activities. How did this interview come about?

After the Day Against DRM, an Italian radio show heard about the Portuguese event, in particular about the interview in Radio Zero, so they asked Radio Zero if there was anyone available for a live radio interview about it. Radio Zero contacted me (who was interviewed in Radio Zero), and while I wasn't available at that date, scheduled with Rui and the Italian radio show so that this interview was possible.

How did you get personally involved in DRM-PT / ANSOL? What is your role in DRM-PT / ANSOL?

DRM-PT nowadays is a "workgroup" inside of ANSOL, but acts nationally as a "civic movement against DRM", so we have support from people that aren't ANSOL members, we talk with other organizations and so on. DRM-PT was created by me, and I'm also a member of ANSOL.

For more information on how Day Against DRM 2011 went, see our follow-up post.


defectivebydesign.org | 27-May-2011 23:57

Outcry leads to 200 bricks ordered and reprehensible Nintendo response

In a little over a week, we surpassed our goal of taking 200 brick orders for Nintendo, to protest their claim that they have the right to "brick" (disable) users' devices when used outside of Nintendo's outrageous Terms of Service.

The point of all this is to send a message to Nintendo, and to let potential Nintendo 3DS buyers know how badly the company plans on treating them. It's also to set a precedent, so other companies will think twice about treating people this way.

The message against Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) and terrible Terms is emerging loud and clear. During the week, news outlets around the world (see BoingBoing, PCWorld, TorrentFreak, and many more) have picked up on your action, and have been calling Nintendo asking for a response.

Speaking to MCV UK, a spokesperson for Nintendo issued the following amazing statement:

Nintendo would like to reassure any concerned consumers that under our European terms and conditions and in compliance with European requirements Nintendo does not have rights to user content, such as comments, messages, images, photos or movies, which are shared in private communications between users or simply stored on Nintendo 3DS.

Wow. Nintendo is admitting that the Terms they are attempting to enforce elsewhere are so awful, they are illegal in the European Union!

Of course, this doesn't deny that European users can still be bricked. Also, the Terms are only part of the story here. There is still the DRM software, used to enforce the Terms and keep users under Nintendo's control so they can't modify or improve their own systems.

But this response does confirm for us that Nintendo knows exactly what they are doing. And it shows that if we keep at it, we can expose Nintendo and other companies doing the same thing, forcing them to address the issue.

So, Reggie Fils-Aime, next week, we will be sending you our letter, signed by people from all over the world, along with a whole lot of bricks. We expect a response -- a real one.

Please note that, we are no longer accepting brick orders, but, you can still feel free to order and assemble bricks on your own and send them along with a letter! And, of course, your donations to the campaign are always appreciated.


defectivebydesign.org | 21-May-2011 01:01

Update: 70 bricks ordered for Nintendo, help us reach our goal of 200!

So far, Defective by Design supporters have ordered 70 bricks to send to Nintendo's CEO Reggie Fils-Aime. This is great progress, but we think with a little more help from you all, we can get to our goal of 200 by Monday.

Here are some quick and easy ways you can help!

Also, the DefectiveByDesign.org campaign called the Nintendo support center and they confirmed they may not be able to unbrick a device once they have bricked it. Further, they said that any work they did trying to fix a bricked 3DS would not be covered by a warranty, since that would have been voided at the time they bricked your 3DS. Therefore, you would have to pay them to attempt to fix it. So, this isn't just a hypothetical -- Nintendo knows what they are doing.

Sample Letter for reviewers


Dear [NAME]

I wanted to inform you of an important story being covered by DefectiveByDesign.org. It concerns the Terms of Service (TOS) and Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) technology on the Nintendo 3DS.

I believe this is an important story and my hope is that [NAME OF NEWS OUTLET OR BLOG] will cover it.

You can find the blog post and more detailed analysis of the TOS at the following URLs:

Some of the important points covered by these articles are listed below:

  • Nintendo reserves the right to connect to your device and do a firmware update without notifying you. Further, Nintendo has confirmed that such a firmware update could be used to brick the device (i.e,. render it unplayable); and their TOS stipulates that if you use the device with any unauthorized modifications, accessories, or software, that such a firmware update will brick the device.

  • If a person takes photos or videos with the 3DS, Nintendo claims a copyright license to those pictures or videos.

  • All activities done on the device, including cartridges used, games played, programs run, wireless beacons connected to, etc. are tracked and stored on the device. This is very similar to the recent iPhone location-tracking scandal.

  • By default, your 3DS will always be trying to connect to a wifi connection (even in sleep mode), and upon connection it will upload all tracked data, including the "user content" (such as the videos and photos taken; messages created by the person; etc) to Nintendo servers.

  • Nintendo is clearly targeting children with the 3DS; and their message to parents is that it's the parents responsibility to carefully watch their children using it; and make sure they don't enter any personal information (e.g., take pictures, videos, type their name to friends they are chatting with, etc.). And, while they can turn wireless off and selectively disable some software through settings, it doesn't actually stop collecting and tracking the info.

The DefectiveByDesign.org campaign called the Nintendo call center, and after being passed around a bit, Nintendo confirmed that not only could they brick your device, but, that once bricked, they are unsure they would even be able to salvage it. Further, they said that any attempted work they did on it would not be covered by a warranty, since that would be voided, so you would have to pay for the attempt to fix it!

Again, I hope you will consider covering this important story.


Sincerely,

[YOUR NAME]


defectivebydesign.org | 14-May-2011 00:40

Tell Reggie Fils-Aime that the Nintendo 3DS is dubious, devious, and defective.

The Nintendo 3DS comes with Terms of Service (TOS) that should not be accepted. In fact, the TOS are so unbelievable that we have included a more detailed summary of them on a separate page. To enforce these TOS, Nintendo uses Digital Restrictions Management. This combination of legal and technological restrictions make the Nintendo 3DS dubious, devious, and defective.

One particularly nasty part of the TOS makes a threat that Nintendo will brick your device if you use your 3DS in a way that they do not approve. First, they state that Nintendo "may update or change the Nintendo 3DS System or the Nintendo 3DS Service in whole or in part, without notice to you; and then later they state that after the 3DS has been updated…

[…] any existing or future unauthorized technical modification of the hardware or software of your Nintendo 3DS System, or the use of an unauthorized device in connection with your system, will render the system permanently unplayable.
Take Action

Brick Nintendo before they brick you.

Help get the point across to Nintendo by sending them a ton of bricks! Our goal is to order 200 bricks for Nintendo by May 16th.

  • There are two ways to do this:
    • Go to http://defectivebydesign.org/brick-nintendo
      to donate to the campaign and we will send a brick — or a whole bundle of bricks — on your behalf along with a letter (below). Please order by Monday, May 16th, so we can send them all at once and have the biggest impact!
    • Or, order the bricks yourself, assemble, and then send them to Nintendo along with a custom letter.
  • Share this story on social networks and by email.
Letter to Reggie Fils-Aime

This is the letter we will be sending along with the bricks.


Reginald Fils-Aime
President and COO
Nintendo of America
4820 150th Ave. Northeast
Redmond, WA 98052



Dear Reggie Fils-Aime,

The Terms of Service on the Nintendo 3DS are insulting and I will not accept them. The Digital Restrictions Management technology that you use to enforce these terms allows you to dictate how, when, and even IF, I am able to use the device in my own home.

The Nintendo 3DS is Defective by Design and your Terms of Service are dubious, devious, and defective for the following reasons.

Dubious: Nintendo tracks all of the activity on the device and all of the data created by a user. Further, the TOS grants Nintendo a license to all "user content" created on the 3DS, which includes "comments, messages, images, photos, movies, information," and more. Note that the 3DS comes with a camera, so you are making a claim on photos or movies that I create!

Devious: Whenever the wifi is turned on, the 3DS will constantly try to connect to the Nintendo servers and upload all of the tracked data and information.

This is particulary devious when the users are children. And what is your solution to making sure children's personal information doesn't get tracked? You tell parents to make sure their children don't use the device in a way where personal information will be stored.

This means kids shouldn't use the camera; they shouldn't create nicknames; they shouldn't chat about themselves; they shouldn't browse the web; and they shouldn't do a host of other things the 3DS was explicitly made to do.

If children shouldn't use the device for what it is made for, then why are you marketing it toward children?

Defective: You say that at any time, Nintendo can update a device without notice. Further, you state that if you do not like how a person is using the device, then through this update of the system you "will render the system permanently unplayable."

Put another way, if you do not like what I am doing with my 3DS, you will brick my device!

The attached bundle of bricks is my way of saying that I would rather Brick Nintendo before Nintendo has a chance to brick my device.

If you want to regain the trust and respect of myself and the rest of your potential customers, please respond:

  • Drop DRM from the Nintendo 3DS and all future Nintendo products.
  • Change your terms of service. Tracking a user's activity; claiming a copyright license on a user's data and their creative works; and bricking a user's device if she chooses to modify or use it an in "unapproved" way are intrusive and completely unacceptable, to say the least.
  • Make a formal statement apologizing to your customers and responding to these requests.

Sincerely,


your name and The DRM Elimination Crew


defectivebydesign.org | 09-May-2011 18:25

Apology Not Accepted; Sony Boycott Remains

In mid-April, Sony's PlayStation Network servers were compromised and over 77 million customers had their personal data exposed. Two weeks after Sony learned of the breach, they issued a public apology. As part of this, they also are offering a bribe they are calling the "welcome back" program.

But Sony has not issued an apology to Alexander Egorenkov (graf_chokolo) and George Hotz (geohot), whom they harassed and threatened with extreme force for modifying their own PS3 computers. Nor has Sony issued a statement that they will stop bringing legal action against individuals that wish to modify their own PS3 computers.

Now, Sony is asking users to give up additional personal information and control of their machines to Sony's DRM-encumbered network, in exchange for accessing some multimedia from Sony servers for 30 days.

Sony's chief says that his number one job is in "making sure Sony can regain the trust from [their] users."

Perhaps if he hadn't turned off his email account in response to public feedback, he'd know what users actually want. How about promising to stop suing users for installing software on their own computers?

So, no thanks, Sony, we are still boycotting you!


You can read more about our boycott of Sony, at www.defectivebydesign.org/sony.

defectivebydesign.org | 03-May-2011 20:54

Day Against DRM - Two Days Away

Clear your schedule for a worldwide day of action against DRM. On Wednesday, May 4th, we will be taking action to raise the stakes and increase awareness about the threats of Digital Restrictions Management -- in a very significant way!

Awareness is a key part of defeating DRM. Whether protesting outside Apple Stores in Hazmat suits as we have done in years past, handing out leaflets in front of public libraries, or sending direct complaints to senior executives at Sony, action gets attention, and creates space for change.

Please set some time aside in your day on Wednesday to join us for this once-a-year opportunity! We hope you'll work with us against DRM year-round, but coordinating online and physical events on one day amplifies all of our voices.

Take action! Add a banner to your site or blog

We've made seven banners for you to choose from, but there are so many talented and creative people involved in the fight against DRM that we ask anyone who wants to make a banner to do so. Add your banners directly to the wiki and show the world!

Run an event

An easy way to run a local event is to draft a letter or a flier, get a few people together, and head on down to your local library, Apple Store, Best Buy, or any other local DRM-provider and hand them out.

For an example, see:

Our Letter to the Boston Public Library:

Our boycott-Sony flier:

If you do write a letter or flier, please add it to wiki!

Write a blog post

Let others know why you oppose DRM, and highlight some examples.

Last year we had a lot of great blog posts! It would be great to see the same this year.

Check-out some of the posts from last year:

Microblog on identi.ca

Spread the news about the Day Against DRM on identi.ca by using the hashtag #NODRM.

Complimentary album from Magnatune.com

If you participate in Day Against DRM, please let us know, and we will gladly give you a gift certificate for a DRM-free album from http://www.magnatune.com. All you have to do is:

1) Add your action, event, or blog post to our wiki. http://libreplanet.org/wiki/Group:DefectiveByDesign/Day_Against_DRM_2011

2) Email us by Friday at info@defectivebydesign.org letting us know what you did!

defectivebydesign.org | 02-May-2011 22:42

Interview with Leo Babauta

Leo Babauta is a simplicity blogger & author. He created Zen Habits - a blog with over 200,000 subscribers, mnmlist.com, and the best-selling books focus, The Power of Less, and Zen To Done. He has dedicated the Zen Habits blog and Zen to Done e-book to the public domain. In this interview with Graziano Sorbaioli of Libreplanet Italia, he shares his thoughts on free software, copyright, and DRM.


0) When did you start being a minimalist and finding simplicity in the daily chaos?

It's something I started exploring in the 1990s, then forgot about, then rediscovered in 2006. I'm still learning.

1) You practice minimalism and even blog about it on mnmlist.com. Many minimalists condemn the use of technology because they see it as a plus. What's your opinion about it?

There's a lot of appeal to giving up technology and living in a log cabin in the woods with nothing but the bare necessities. There's also a lot of value in technology -- it has enabled us to create things impossible only a decade or two ago, to connect in ways never imagined before, to give us instant access to learning that was simply unthinkable when we were growing up. That's as amazing as anything you'll find in the woods.

2) Since August 2009 you joined Identi.ca, the free microblogging platform. Social networks can be overwhelming due to their great amount of messages and friends. How do you manage to stay updated without burning up?

The freedom of Identi.ca truly appeals to me, but I don't feel it has reached the critical mass it needs to be as useful as it could be. I haven't given up on the idea though.

I place limits on how much time I spend reading news and social media, and getting updated. If I don't set limits, it will eat up my creative time.

3) On Zenhabits.net I read that you are against using copyright to restrict what your readers can do with your articles. What convinced you to "free" your writings and what would you like to say to people who criticize your choice?

It was an experiment -- I'd been holding onto copyright out of fear, but I asked myself, "What would happen if I just let go?" I didn't know the answer, but the idea that ideas should be free of the restrictions they've had for centuries was a beautiful one to me -- and an idea I freely stole from others. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that no work is completely original, that authors build on the ideas of others every single time they write, and that if we pretend we own this stuff and threaten to sue those who use our ideas, we are hypocrites. Let go of the idea of ownership, and see what inventions can arise. Free software has shown me that letting go of protections over information can result in wondrous things.

4) You have published many books without any restrictions or DRM. The Free Software Foundation campaigns against DRM and will launch a Day Against DRM on May 4th, 2011. What would you say to other authors who wish to restrict their books using DRM?

Authors need to put their readers first, always, if they want trust from their readers. Put yourself in your reader's shoes: do technical restrictions on the use of your book help the reader? Or do they frustrate and annoy the reader? What message does this send to the reader -- that you care more about the reader or protecting your ownership over something they've paid you for?

Authors use DRM out of fear, not out of a desire to give something valuable to readers. Release the fear, release the DRM, and see what happens when you start a relationship with trust.

If you have any suggestions for interviews you would like to see, or want to do an interview, please email us at info@defectivebydesign.org.


defectivebydesign.org | 02-May-2011 21:08

We need to keep the pressure on Sony

We asked you to email Sony CEO Howard Stringer during our last call to action and Sony responded by shutting off his email address. Many of you then sent emails to the next email address we posted, Nicole Seligman, Sony Executive VP and General Counsel. Your action was effective — it was an important part of the overall public pressure put on Sony to back off.

And back off they did. Sony ended up settling its lawsuit against George Hotz (aka geohot). Hotz has agreed to not use Sony devices in an ambiguous "unauthorized" fashion — in fact, he's boycotting Sony anyway — and the accusations brought up in the case by Sony remain unproven. While Hotz shouldn't have to endure even this, which amounts to a gag order, Sony was stopped well short of what it was hoping to get. Hotz is now free to move on, but Sony is stuck with a fresh batch of bad publicity and no money or legal precedent to show for it.

You did a great job of letting Sony know how unacceptable their behavior has been. Here are excerpts from just some of the 300+ emails you've sent so far:

“I would like to let you know that I think your company's behaviour towards free software developers is atrocious and disgusting. I will buy no further Sony products until you cease this action.”

“With the removal of OtherOS and now your attacks on the hackers trying to restore the functionality I paid for. I will be selling all my Sony equipment on ebay and will no longer be recommending any of your products to my friends and family.”

“You should be encouraging imaginative uses of the PS3. Each time someone in the free software community expands the PS3's capabilities, the machine becomes desirable for more people.”

We're not out of the woods yet. Geohot is boycotting Sony over their behavior and we should too. Sony had alleged violations of the DMCA, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, and other copyright laws against Geohot for jailbreaking the PS3. Sony was granted a number of subpoenas to access information on anyone with even a remote curiosity about the jailbreak, including server logs of geohot's personal website to the records of anyone who watched the video “Jailbroken PS3 3.55 with Homebrew”.

Another PS3 hacker, Alexander Egorenkov, or graf_chokolo, had his home raided by the police and is now being sued for €1 million. Just recently, representatives of Sony went to his home again and confiscated his equipment.

It's bad enough that Sony has put restrictive measures against developers in the first place by making jailbreaking necessary. Sony should be encouraging the software development community around the PS3, instead of throwing its legal weight around.

Keep in mind that one of the goals of PS3 hackers is restoring the ability to install other operating systems, a functionality that Sony removed after it was promised to buyers. Some of these PS3 owners have joined a class-action lawsuit against Sony. Interestingly, this lawsuit alleges Sony violated the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act by removing the OtherOS function — the same law Sony uses against hackers who enable OtherOS. The cases against these hackers are still fresh, but Sony's war on hackers has been going on for a long time.

So, let's keep the pressure on! Do you oppose Sony's actions? Are you boycotting Sony? Let them know. Email Nicole Seligman, Executive VP and General Counsel at Sony (nicole.seligman@am.sony.com) — as always, please BCC or CC us on emails at info@defectivebydesign.org! Check out our anti-Sony stickers in the store while you're at it.


defectivebydesign.org | 15-Apr-2011 22:06

Librarians Against DRM

In 2008, the DRM Elimination Crew stood on the steps of the Boston Public Library (BPL) and demanded that they Kick DRM Out (1, 2). The DRM technology got into the BPL through a contract with the company OverDrive, who uses DRM (on most titles) to control how and when people can read ebooks. This setup essentially moves control of the library's digital collection into the hands of the publishers and intermediary companies like OverDrive that do the dirty work of implementing DRM.

Back then we found that librarians were somewhat disgruntled with this setup, but, unfortunately, few librarians were willing to take action to get DRM out of their libraries. However, a recent move by the publisher HarperCollins may have just pushed many such librarians over the edge by demanding a 26-checkout limit on many of their titles (i.e., a title can only be checked out 26 times to patrons before it is removed from the library's digital collection and it needs to be re-purchased).

One reaction to this demand of HarperCollins is a call for a Readers' Bill of Rights, and the creation of powerful graphics and logos that create solidarity for Librarians Against DRM. The Readers Bill of Rights currently makes the following demands for readers:

  • Ability to retain, archive and transfer purchased materials
  • Ability to create a paper copy of the item in its entirety
  • Digital Books should be in an open format (i.e. you could read on a computer, not just a book reader device)
  • Choice of hardware to access books (i.e. in 3 years when your device has broken, you can still read your book on other hardware)
  • Reader information will remain private (what, when and how we read will not be stored, sold or marketed)

If a publisher wants to meet these minimum requirements, they will have to get rid of DRM.

Readers, librarians, and authors need to make their voices heard. DRM leaves readers and librarians helpless and divided. If we do not ban DRM from our libraries and our lives then we can and should expect publishers such as HarperCollins to strangle libraries so as to gain as much of a profit as possible.

We need to watch out for each other and make sure that people are not getting suckered into notions of "fair" DRM. For example, Amazon offered an ebook "lending" service, and treated it as though it were some novel invention — see our article ''Lending: A solved problem" — but what is more, as soon as individuals began collaborating to make wide use of this paltry concession, Amazon shut them down.

With the Day Against DRM just around the corner, we are encouraging people to come up with actions that can be done locally. If your local library uses DRM, that would be a great place to start.

If you are interested in participating in the 2011 Day Against DRM, here are two simple steps you can take to get involved:


defectivebydesign.org | 01-Apr-2011 00:16

EA uses DRM to punish forum behavior

Just because you buy a DRM-restricted game doesn't mean you can play it. An unfortunate forum comment temporarily left a gamer unable to play a single-player game purchased through the EA Store. Bioware forum poster Arno recently had his EA account suspended for 72 hours and then found he could not activate his previously preordered and purchased copy of Dragon Age II.

How is this possible? When a game is purchased through the EA Store, one of the things the buyer pays for is the “licensed right” to access DRM which EA has made necessary to play their games. In the case of Dragon Age II, a single-player game, the DRM takes the form of an online authentication upon installation and then periodically afterward. While this form of Digital Restrictions Management is sometimes seen as less intrusive, this incident shows it can be more crippling than the average person perceives.

"Entitlements" are licensed rights granted, awarded, provided and/or purchased by you to access and/or use online or off-line elements or features of EA Services and/or products. Entitlements include but are not limited to paid and free downloadable content, unlockable content, digital and/or virtual assets, rights of use tied to unlock keys or codes, serial codes and/or online authentication of any kind, in-game achievements and virtual or fictional currency not otherwise governed by a Digital Services Agreement. — Electronic Arts Terms of Service

EA has since reversed its actions and claims the forum suspension was not meant to be a full account suspension. However, the fact is that EA still has the ability to lock paying consumers out of their games at their discretion — even single player games without an online component. EA's actions were within their Terms of Service, which remain the same despite their recent backtracking. Even if this was a true mistake, it shows how a glitch in a DRM system can result in a total loss of access to digital media. EA is keeping control over how you can play their games, and giving you a good reason to avoid DRM-restricted games.

Hi everyone, I'm Helen and I'm the newest intern here at the FSF. I'm going to be updating Defective by Design and I hope you will find these topics interesting and relevent. You can reach me at campaigns-interns@fsf.org.


defectivebydesign.org | 18-Mar-2011 21:13

Sign-up! May 4th, 2011 Day Against DRM

Wednesday May 4, 2011 will be the third annual international Day Against DRM.

The 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. This year, we'll be helping individuals and groups work together to create local actions in their communities — actions will range from protesting an unfriendly hardware vendor to handing out informative fliers at local public libraries!

DefectiveByDesign.org wants to help you plan or get involved in local actions and then broadcast your stories globally. If you are interested in taking part in this year's Day Against DRM, sign-up to our 2011 Day Against DRM mailing list

You can read about last year's Day Against DRM on our wiki at http://libreplanet.org/wiki/Group:Day_Against_DRM_2010.


defectivebydesign.org | 08-Mar-2011 18:15

Tell Sony to stop harassing hackers

This month we're focusing our attention on Sony. Sony has been in the news a lot recently: suing developers for figuring out how to run free software on their PlayStation 3 consoles.

Both George Hotz (geohot) and more recently, Graf Chokolo — operator of the PS3 Hypervisor Reverse Engineering blog have been harrassed by Sony, with Graf Chokolo having his home raided on Feb 23rd.

As TorrentFreak reported earlier today:

"Guys, I don’t joke, it’s serious. And to prove it, I kept my word and uploaded all my HV [hypervisor] reversing stuff. Upload it everywhere so Sony [can't] remove it easily. Grab it guys, it contains lots of knowledge about HV and HV procs," wrote Chokolo, while publishing links to where the material could be found.

With users who choose to run free software on their consoles bypassing Sony's DRM being banned from Sony's online services, and the PS3 master key is out in the wild now — even being 'retweeted' by Sony's marketing department — rumors suggest that Sony will retailiate further by creating a new model of the PlayStation 3 which cannot be liberated.

Take action!
  • Email Howard Stringer — howard.stringer@jp.sony.com — and tell him that Sony needs to stop this assault on free software developers.

defectivebydesign.org | 28-Feb-2011 23:54

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