The Open Internet at Risk

Monopolies, 'Net neutrality & DRM

Not a Luxury | Canada's Digital Divide
We Pay Too Much | Net Neutrality | DRM

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A red Internet sign hangs on the side of a building.

Broadband is a human right, the nervous system of the 21st century. It is far too important to be left up to the whims of monopolists building atop public infrastructure without any commitment to the public interest.
— Cory Doctorow — Activist, Author, and Journalist

We're Creating More Content Than Ever Before

We upload a lot of data to the Internet.

From the dawn of civilization until 2003, humankind generated five exabytes of data. Now we produce five exabytes every two days…and the pace is accelerating.

The bulk of what's contributing to this explosion of data, Schmidt says, is user generated content.
— Eric Schmidt August 4, 2010

The Guardian reported in July 2015 on the huge amount of data that is uploaded to the Internet on a regular basis:

300 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute.
500 million tweets are sent every day.
30 billion WhatsApp messages are sent every day.
40 million photos are uploaded to Instagram every day.

90% of the data on the internet has been created since 2016, according to an IBM Marketing Cloud study. People, businesses, and devices have all become data factories that are pumping out incredible amounts of information to the web each day.
— Eric Schmidt August 6, 2019

Those numbers have only increased as more and more of our lives move online. An incredible amount of content is now uploaded to the internet every second to websites, blogs, YouTube and social media and other services.

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Internet No Longer a Luxury

Canada's Digital Divide | Demand Affordable Internet | Keep Canadian Data in Canada

In today's world, Internet access is as essential as roads and electricity. Without it, people are cut off from vital opportunities to improve their lives and contribute to society. It's not just about convenience — it's about having equal opportunities to work, learn, and participate in the economy.
— OpenMedia

Most government and financial services are increasingly available only online. Companies send you PDF bills via email. Where available, paper bills via snail mail are seldom more than summaries, forcing you to log onto your account for the details.

Much of what we depend upon (email, websites, cloud services, social media, etc.) are run by an increasingly fewer corporate giants. This is creating huge dependencies and the potential for massive failures affecting whole regions, countries or even the world:

Microsoft 365 dominates the corporate productivity services market with an estimated 45–50 per cent market share worldwide, with Google Workspace coming second, with around 30–35 per cent. This means that approximately 80 per cent of businesses are dependent on one of two vendors for their ability to transact business and communicate at even the most basic level.

Government and government-provided services, like education, health care and defence, are just as reliant on these services as the business world.

In today's world, when Microsoft's or Google's services suffer a hiccup, it doesn't affect one business. Or ten, or a hundred. Tens of thousands of business, and government offices and civil society institutions, all go offline. Simultaneously. Mom-and-pop stores, multi-billion-dollar corporations, elementary schools, hospitals, entire governments, all go out, all at once.

And we haven't even talked about how Amazon, Microsoft and Google control almost two-thirds of the world's web/application hosting market share. If one or all of those services go down, most of the websites you go to on a regular basis would suddenly become unreachable.
— Phil A. McBride: We have broken the internet

Canada's Digital Divide

The local CRA offices that dotted communities across Canada have closed shop, leaving only a few regional offices. Phone lines are full even though Canada has more tax agents per capita than the IRS.

Because access to the Internet is no longer a luxury, both the quality of service and the pricing needs to be addressed.

Today, high-speed Internet access is essential for all Canadians, no matter where they live

It is necessary to telework, to access on-line medicine, for distance learning and more. It helps businesses thrive, no matter where they are located, and it ensures that rural Canadians can transition smoothly to the digital economy.

But there is a connectivity gap — Canadians living in rural and remote areas have less access to high-speed Internet than those living in urban areas.
— Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

Access to Internet is not available to everyone. Many factors are involved, including lack of access, poor quality service and affordability.

Unequal connectivity is creating a massive “digital divide” in Canada that slows our economy and makes our society less fair.

High-speed Internet should be a basic right, available to every Canadian at a price they can afford, not a privilege. Every Canadian deserves the chance to stay connected.
— OpenMedia

Multiple Factors Involved

There is no one digital divide. At a high level, the digital divide is the gap between those with Internet access and those without it. But the digital divide is multifaceted and includes many factors such as access, affordability, quality, and relevance.
— The Internet Society

Canada's geography contributes to the digital divide in rural areas. Our population is spread out across the second largest country in the world, sparsely in the north. While paying the highest rates in the world, expanding access is not economically attractive — something made worse by Canada's monopolies.

But there is a connectivity gap — Canadians living in rural and remote areas have less access to high-speed Internet than those living in urban areas.
— Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

Demand affordable Internet for all
Sign the Petition!

Demand Affordable Internet For All

Access to high-speed Internet isn't equal for all Canadians. While most urban areas enjoy reliable connections, about 40% of rural Canada and nearly 60% of First Nations communities remain UNCONNECTED.

Today, high-speed Internet is a necessity, not a luxury. Without it, people miss out on job opportunities, healthcare information, crucial news, education or benefits of the modern economy.
— OpenMedia

No Canadian should be left on the wrong side of the digital divide. Bring affordable high-speed Internet to EVERY Canadian

What's the current situation?

Since 2019, Canadians have been promised we'll all one day have access to high-speed Internet, defined by the CRTC as 50 Megabits per second (Mbps) download, and 10 Mbps upload.

The government currently plans to get us there by 2030; but there are still MAJOR gaps and challenges on the way. While urban areas are mostly connected, many rural and remote areas, most First Nations communities, and even low-income neighbourhoods in cities are being left behind.

And there's no guarantee from the government we'll be able to afford service once it's available; Canadians everywhere are still paying some of the highest Internet prices in the world with few choices due to our telecom triopoly.
— OpenMedia

High-speed Internet a Necessity

Today, high-speed Internet is a necessity, not a luxury. Without it, people miss out on job opportunities, healthcare information, crucial news, education or benefits of the modern economy.

Canadian Challenges

Connecting Canada's vast land mass isn't easy. Sparse populations make network expansion costly, and existing telecoms often aren't willing to pay to do it when there's easier profits closer to their existing networks.

That makes public subsidies like the Universal Broadband Fund a critical tool to subsidize buildout and ensure universal 50/10 access.

But these programs can be a double-edged sword. If done wrong, they can lock a local community into a single monopoly provider indefinitely, leaving consumers with no choice but to pay high prices, or leaving certain underserved communities unconnected altogether.
— OpenMedia

No Canadian should be left on the wrong side of Canada's digital divide.

Keep Canadian Data in Canada

Demand Strong Data Localization Laws

Over 25% of Canada's domestic Internet traffic take a “boomerang” route through the U.S., even when connecting to a Canadian site. Our data is regularly exposed to American NSA surveillance.

That's not just concerning — it's a serious threat when a foreign government openly undermines our sovereignty.

Demand strong data localization laws that keep Canadian data in Canada and assert Canada's network sovereignty — before it's too late!

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Canadians Pay Too Much

End Monopolies | Sneaky Pricing | Excessive Wireless Costs
MVNOs | Internet Quality Varies

End Monopolies

Canadians everywhere are still paying some of the highest Internet prices in the world with few choices due to our telecom triopoly. One-in-five Canadians cannot afford Internet or TV services.

A 2022 study found that out of 135 countries, Canada ranks a dismal 103rd for lifetime broadband affordability.

Canadian internet prices are notoriously among the most expensive in the world. …Canadians currently pay an average of $102 per month for their home internet plan. That's well above the $25–85 that the vast majority (73%) report considering reasonable.

The majority of Canadians surveyed feel they are already overpaying for their internet plan each month and prices have risen 6.42% on average in the past year.
— WhistleOut, July 2021

Internet Prices Rising Faster Than Inflation

A CRTC 2014 hearing noted that Internet fees in Canada have increased at five times the rate of inflation.

A July 2021 study found that Internet prices rose 6% in Canada the previous year. That was before inflation rates began rising in 2022 for the first time in 20 years.

Mergers Destroy Competition

The big telecoms are buying up smaller players. These mergers eliminate competition, remove options for consumers and bring higher prices.

The scale of the July nationwide Rogers outage shows Canada can no longer tolerate monopolized private telecom companies that function without public accountability or oversight.
— OpenMedia

It's time to take a shot back at Rogers, Bell, and Telus.

Top Rogers executives to receive $17M in bonuses tied to Shaw deal — including $8M for CEO Tony Staffieri.
Rogers, Bell and Telus collected more than $240 million from Canada's wage-subsidy program then raised shareholder payouts.
Telecoms met with government and CRTC hundreds of times prior to reversing wholesale internet rates.

Competition is Lacking in Canada

Competition in the marketplace is good for Canadians. Competition benefits Canadians by keeping prices low and keeping the quality and choice of products and services high.

With fair and vigorous competition, businesses must produce and sell the products consumers want, and offer them at prices they are willing to pay. This means that in a competitive market, the consumer holds the power.

When there is limited competition and consumer choice, businesses can dictate their terms. This can lead to businesses offering products and services that are too expensive, of low quality, or lacking features that consumers want. Without competition, consumers must accept these inferior products and services, or go without.
— Competition Bureau Canada

The CRTC under Ian Scott was not a consumer-conscious watchdog.

Under the leadership of Ian Scott, a former Telus executive and self-described personal friend of Bell CEO Mirko Bibic, the CRTC has issued a rash of anti-consumer decisions that have led to more expensive prices for Canadians over the past few years.
— OpenMedia August 31, 2022

While the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) lowered wholesale rates larger carriers can charge internet service providers (ISPs) in August 2019, they reversed the decision in May 2021. The CRTC said the decision was erroneous.
— MobileSyrup May 25, 2022

This decision to reverse the more favourable wholesale rates is only one of many anti-consumer decisions made by the CRTC under Ian Scott.

The CRTC should be there to protect Canadians, not enrich companies already protected from foreign competition and enjoying 45% profit margins.

Instead, the CRTC allowed telecoms to continue to overcharge.

Sneaky Pricing Tricks

Telecoms use fine print in their contracts and sneaky pricing to confuse consumers and make it even harder to compare plans between providers.

Telus Adds 1.5% To Bills

Telus went to the industry-favouring CRTC to get permission to add an additional 1.5% to the bills of customers using credit cards.

The original intent of the court order that allowed charging credit card customers was based upon the claim that credit card costs were built into pricing and this change would lead to reduced costs for customers not using credit cards.

No corresponding reduction in consumer billing occurred. Just like the added fees for retaining paper billing, this was another ploy to increase profitability at customer expense.

Credit card merchant fees are part of any business's expense and Telus is far more profitable than most. Only a monopoly would attempt such a sneaky move.

$100 for a Few Texts to U.S.

Telus billed me $100 for a few texts sent to the U.S. from my wife's cellphone even though their most expensive plan was $29.95 per year.

She is no longer with Telus Mobility but our choices are narrowing rapidly as telecoms buy out their competition thanks to Minister Champagne's approval of the Shaw buyout.

Canadian Wireless Costs Excessive

Wireless costs in Canada are out of line.

A 2020 report from Finland-based telecom research firm Rewheel found that Telus, Bell, and Rogers ranked 1st, 2nd, and 3rd most expensive amongst 168 wireless carriers operating in 48 countries around the world.
— OpenMedia

People in Canada pay some of the highest prices in the world for our phone plans. People in much of the rest of the world pay just $1/day for cell service or even less!

The secret to bringing our inflated prices down is no secret at all: We need more competition. The fastest globally proven way to create that competition is to allow low-cost alternate mobile providers — MVNOs to fully operate in Canada.

Join the chorus! If enough of us tell our MPs to "Go MVNO!", we can bring lower prices and more choices to everyone in Canada!
— OpenMedia

Notice that Canada is by far the costliest per gigabyte of data in 2020:

The root cause of the high Canadian wireless prices, as we shown in our 2019 study, is the fact that the Canadian wireless market is a be facto network duopoly.
— Rewheel

PCMag noted in 2020 that Canadians are not offered the sub-$30 cellular plans easily available in the U.S. and elsewhere.

Instead, Canadian cellular companies only advertise their $80 plans. Cheaper plans are unadvertised and usually only available through the company's “low rate” carrier.

Small cellular operators (MVNOs) that would offer more reasonable rates are blocked from operating in Canada.

MVNOs are Low Cost Cellular Alternatives

MVNOs (or MNOs) are a significant factor in reducing cellphone prices:

What are the factors that determine mobile prices? Market concentration (no. of MNOs) has a statistically significant effect on 4G & 5G monthly and gigabyte prices. The higher the no. of MNOs the lower the price.
— Rewheel

Small cellular operators that would offer more reasonable rates are blocked from operating in Canada.

The vast majority of internet users in Canada access broadband internet services through wired networks deployed by telephone and cable companies. Since it is unlikely that additional wired connections will be made available in the future, Canada's telecommunications regulator imposes a mandatory wholesale access obligation to ensure consumer choice and greater levels of competition. Under this wholesale access regime, independent competitors gain access to parts of existing telephone, cable, and fibre optic networks at regulated wholesale rates, and in turn use these connections to serve consumers in direct competition with network owners.
— Competition Bureau

Canadian Internet Quality Varies Widely

The speed and bandwidth available to Canadians varies mainly between urban and rural areas but also between provinces.

There are definitely challenges of geography since most of Canada's population lives within 100 miles of the U.S. border. The advantages of a north-south market is very limited compared to other countries that have populations more evenly spread, such as the continental United States.

However, most Canadians live in larger cities that justify lower prices regardless of the nature of the geography.

This advantage is not found in rural areas nor in Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, or the Yukon.

Big Telecoms Attack Netflix and the Internet

The CRTC regulated cable TV in the 1990s since there was a limited number of channels (simultaneous time slots) and content needed to be regulated to ensure that there was variety and that cheaper U.S. content would not dominate.

There is no such limitation on the Internet, including streaming services like Netflix.

Every person in Canada could watch a different program on the Internet without interfering with the ability of any other to do the same.

The only reason to restrict access is to ensure the profitability of the big telecoms.

Monopolies Call for Regulation

Rather than change to suit the current technology, Canada's telecoms are calling on the government to regulate the Internet to ensure profitability.

The calls for an Internet tax would be used to fund Canada's big telecoms and limit Internet access with restrictions. CanCon is a confusing rating system designed to benefit Canada's big telecoms rather than truly promote Canadian content.

We're seeing the results of that poorly-thought-out plan in the disastrous Bill C-11 and C-18.

Canadian Big Media hoped that both bills will enhance their profitability, ignoring the fact that it would have an adverse affect on Canadian content worldwide and imperil international copyright and other agreements.

In less than two months, the government has reshaped the Internet in Canada with Bills C-11 and C-18 leading to streaming services that may block Canadian users and platforms that may block news sharing. The result is a cautionary tale for Internet regulation initiatives with Canada emerging as a model for how things can go badly wrong.
— Michael Geist

Bill C-18 is badly designed legislation that failed to achieve its objectives. Worse, it will likely lead to the collapse of local news coverage for Canadians.

Prime Minister Trudeau then propped up Canadian news by financing nearly the full cost of their budgets, destroying the objectivity of Canadian journalists in the process. Canadian news has essentially become a mouthpiece for the Liberal government, something we're used to seeing in dictatorships but not democracies.

Netflix Threatens Profitability

Unlike cable TV, each viewer on Netflix can watch whichever program they want according to their own schedule. While the content is not unlimited (like the Internet itself), you are not forced to watch any program just because there is nothing else available in a particular time slot.

If people were getting what they want on cable TV, Netflix and other streaming services wouldn't be a threat. However, monopolies like CBC can get away with it because there is no other option, especially in areas poorly served by high-speed Internet.

Netflix threatens their TV subscriber base because their service frequently lacks viewable content unless you're a news or sports junkie.

Even with more channels than there were in the 1990s, there are times when there's nothing on TV because many of the channels carry similar and frequently repeated content. Combined with fewer episodes per season, this is a deadly mix for sticking with traditional TV services.

Competition Banned in Rural U.S.

Several U.S. rural communities decided to take matters into their own hands and built community broadband in areas the big ISPs refused to service.

The response? The ISPs lobbied to ban community broadband in 19 U.S. states, calling it “unfair competition.”

Remember, these were areas that commercial operators refused to provide broadband service because it was unprofitable.

Legislation protected huge profits by limiting bandwidth and competition.

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Net Neutrality

Save Net Neutrality in Canada | Change Your Browser

The Internet was designed as a neutral platform for open, unrestricted access to the data we wanted to obtain.

We need the Internet to be fast, cheap, neutral, and accessible everywhere.
— Larry Lessig

Undemocratic forces are working to destroy the Internet we know and love — a magical place of dank memes and video streams, the essential backbone we use to communicate with our loved ones, our families, and our government.

If they get their way, many of our favorite websites and services will be slowed to a crawl, and we'll end up with an “Internet” that looks more like cable TV — a boring, money-making machine for telecom giants.
— OpenMedia

What is Net Neutrality?

Net neutrality means that all data is treated equally — all sites and services on the Internet have an equal footing.

Net neutrality is the principle that internet service providers providing consumer connection to the Internet should treat all data on the internet the same, not giving specific advantages or penalties in access by user, content, website, platform, or application.
— Mozilla

It allows us to choose what we watch and when we watch it.

Just Like Electricity

The plug in the wall doesn't ask what you're using it for. It simply serves electricity.

That is how we need our electronic data to be served: neutrally — just like electricity.

Imagine plugging in your new electric kettle only to find that it wouldn't work because it wasn't an “approved” brand? What if it worked, but you were charged a higher rate just because it was a kettle, not a toaster?

Delivering Content Without Interference

Net Neutrality delivers the site(s) you request without any extra fees or censorship.

No site is artificially slowed or sped up. There is no fast lane for privileged services such as free access to a particular music or movie service ONLY if you're using that ISP's services.

Net neutrality is a simple concept that ends up being very politically complicated. It's the idea that your internet service provider (ISP) — whether that's Comcast, Verizon, or someone else — shouldn't have the ability to pick and choose which service or content you can see, or make sites pay to have their content load quickly.
— Mozilla Blog

Save Net Neutrality in Canada

Remember when big media controlled everything you read and watched?

They'd like that control back.

Canada's big media companies don't want net neutrality:

The federal government has repeatedly stated its commitment to Net Neutrality, but Canada's Telecommunications Act is currently under review.

And we know lobbyists — and now the CRTC — are pushing for looser regulations, following the U.S.' Net Neutrality repeal as an example.

The federal government must reject any effort by the CRTC to weaken Canada's Net Neutrality framework.
— OpenMedia

Why You Should Care

The loss of net neutrality affects much more than corporate profitability.

Removing net neutrality sees some services promoted; others slowed down or banned altogether.

Neutrality deals with whether companies will be allowed to build more toll booths on the road. Net Neutrality is the best way to insure that no one is in control of the flow of information.
— David Mengert

You should care because net neutrality is about way more than packets of data — it affects competition, innovation, speech online, and user choice.

Losing net neutrality would ultimately mean you have fewer choices for content, applications, and services online, in ways we can't possibly imagine today.
— Mozilla

Government's Failure to Represent Constituents

Government seems to have the ear of the huge mega-corporations, not the people they are supposed to represent.

Without net neutrality, Facebook, Netflix and Twitter could never have become the mega corporations they are today. No future competition could ever emerge.

Compromised Personal Data and Fake News

Tim Berners-Lee, known as the inventor of the Internet, describes the problem:

Over the past 12 months, I've become increasingly worried about three new trends, which I believe we must tackle in order for the web to fulfill its true potential as a tool which serves all of humanity.

Those three new trends:

compromised personal data;
fake news that he says has “spread like wildfire;” and
the lack of regulation in political advertising, which he says threatens democracy.

Domestic Spying

Large scale spying on ordinary citizens and opposition to encryption are two of the ways government has turned a basically free and open Internet into a data-collection nightmare.

Both government and corporations cry foul when you try to block these attempts.

Bill C-51 provided greatly increased surveillance powers to the police but at the cost of personal privacy. Unfortunately, this loss of freedom will not ensure protection against terrorism or crime.

U.S. Already Seeing the Results

To understand the dangers of a net neutrality-free Internet, one has only to look to our neighbours to the south.

The US voted to kill off net neutrality on December 14th 2017 in spite of overwhelming support for net neutrality by U.S. citizens.

The ISPs in the US are taking full advantage of the repeal of Net Neutrality.

A new research study proved that video streaming has been throttled across the board since the repeal.

Having access to the internet doesn't matter if you don't feel safe using it. Online threats from trolls, viruses, hackers, or even that general sense of anxiety that comes from doom-scrolling are now the norm.
— CIRA: What's up with the internet?

You Need to Take Action

Since governments are listening only to big media, you need to step up and take an active part if you want to see net neutrality remain.

Net Neutrality is under attack in Canada — here's how we save it.
OpenMedia leads the fight to get your voice heard. See current campaigns.
Take the Google pledge to support a free and open Internet.

Change Your Browser

Which browser you use and your "home" or startup page make a great deal of difference.

If your browser is the one your operating system set as default with the landing page chosen by Microsoft, Google or Apple, why not choose a safer browser that loads by default something that is important to you?

If Microsoft's News & Interests feed isn't serving your interests, remove the distraction by right-clicking the task bar and choosing to turn it off in the related menu item.

Signing into your Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge may preserve settings, but also provides a lot of information used to profile you while you surf.

Choose Safer Content

I recommend Firefox.

The Firefox Browser has built in tracking protection. That makes it harder for politicians, advertisers, and disinformation disseminators to find you. And with the free Facebook container extension, you can isolate your Facebook session from everything else you do online. More privacy means more democracy.
— IRL: Democracy and the Internet

A Lot is At Stake

There are more serious issues than familiarity when choosing a browser.

Google controls about 62% of mobile browsers, 69% of desktop browsers, and the operating systems on 71% of mobile devices in the world.

92% of internet searches go through Google and 73% of American adults use YouTube.

Google runs code on approximately 85% of sites on the Web and inside as many as 94% of apps in the Play store.

It collects data about users' every click, tap, query, and movement from all of those sources and more.
— EFF

This Google monopoly now threatens the future of the open Web.

An Open Internet Promotes Innovation

Most of today's big Internet companies wouldn't exist today without a free and open Internet. Startups are in no position to compete with established Fortune 500 companies for limited bandwidth.

Fund Those Working for an Open Internet

Consider funding the organizations working to support a free and open Internet.

OpenMedia works directly to educate people about these issues and to influence those that can make changes.
Mozilla stands up for a healthy internet for all. Mozilla Firefox is the only major independent browser that protects and respects your private information.

Retain a Free & Open Internet

Police are already piling on the pressure for new laws to force you to reveal all of your digital passwords. Telecom giants are jacking up the price of Internet at 5 times the rate of inflation, and Big Media wants to use the upcoming copyright review to turn our Internet into Cable TV 2.0.
— OpenMedia

Retain the current open Internet we currently experience and have taken for granted since we began to use it.

Learn More

More about Net Neutrality:

Net neutrality 101: What you need to know to survive the next 6+ months of debate.
The FCC's case against net neutrality rests on a deliberate misrepresentation of how the Internet works.
Infographic: 15 facts about net neutrality.
FCC proposal would end net neutrality as we know it.
Why support net neutrality and the open Internet.
Electronic Frontier Foundation has blog posts and more about net neutrality.
Save the Internet contains links and articles about net neutrality.

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Digital Rights (DRM)

As music and movies have moved from CDs and DVDs to digital they are easier to copy.

DRM is intended to stop piracy while not interfering with legal use.

…trying to make digital files uncopyable is like trying to make water not wet.
— Bruce Schneier

Unlike a physical book or CD you are restricted in your use of digital media including your ability to lend or sell it.

DRM prevents you from doing what would be possible without it.
— Defective by Design

Evidence Suppressed

These companies have become much more aggressive in pursuing protective technologies, claiming millions of dollars in lost sales.

The EU suppressed a 300-page study that found piracy doesn't harm sales.

Not everyone that downloads a pirated song or movie would have paid for it. The opposite assumption is behind every law related to claims of piracy.

DRM Affects Privacy

If consumers even know there's a DRM, what it is, and how it works, we've already failed.
— Peter Lee, Disney

Kindle Tracks You

One example of how DRM can affect your privacy is Amazon's tracking of where you are in a Kindle ebook.

By selling texts restricted by DRM, Amazon ensnares readers, controls their access to their books, and infringes on their freedoms.
— Defective by Design.

It Locks You In

Telus offers subscribers the ability to “purchase” movies on their digital service. However, unlike physical DVDs, you're then locked into their service. You cannot take that purchase with you if you leave Telus (which could remove access at any time).

Hiding Failures and Fraud

This openness is one-sided.

Companies used DRM to prosecute those that would reveal shortcomings, vulnerabilities or outright fraud.

DRM is wrapped up in a layer of legal entanglements (notably section 1201 of America's Digital Millennium Copyright Act), which allow similar kinds of anticompetitive and ugly practices that make net neutrality so important.
— Tim Wu

Volkswagen Emissions

The Volkswagen emissions scandal is only one example.

Volkswagen gamed the computers in their cars to misreport the actual emissions output so that they appeared cleaner than they actually were. DRM ensured that no one dared to test their results.

We cannot afford to continue to allow companies to threaten our security in order to save face when they fail.

Web Browsers & DRM

Our browsers have become integrated into areas like medical devices and lives could depend upon revealing vulnerabilities and exploits.

DRM has been used to keep these vulnerabilities secret.

As content moved from plugins to HTML5-based content, Netflix and Motion Picture Association of America pushed the W3C to incorporate DRM.

Profitability at Your Expense

DRM places unreasonable restrictions that sacrifice your privacy to ensure corporate profit.

Your privacy is ignored and your ability to control your own information is sacrificed in the pursuit of this goal.

Re-Purchasing Content

You are paying for the content, yet DRM ensures that the consumer pays over and over for the same product simply because technology changes.

You may own the DVD but can't legally copy it to view on your iPad.
You may own the LP but need to re-purchase the CD.
If you scratch the DVD, you can't get a replacement or exchange, even at a discount.

With the move from CDs and DVDs to online streaming, the DRM was incorporated into your browser to ensure corporations retained control of your viewing and listening habits.

In addition, streaming content is continually changing. It is hard to get access to all your favourites unless you subscribe to multiple streaming services.

Corporate vs Individual Rights

Legislation enhances the protection for media giants, often overshadowing the rights of both creators (such as writers, musicians, artists, etc.) and end users.

This concentrates control over production and distribution of media, giving DRM peddlers the power to carry out massive digital book burnings and conduct large scale surveillance over people's media viewing habits.
— Defective by Design

Increased Corporate Control

TPP and other trade agreements increased corporate control worldwide.

DMCA Abuses

Too often the Digital Millennium Act (DMCA) has been used to stiffle legitimate uses.

John Deere used it to prevent farmers from repairing their own equipment.
Volkswagen used it to hide faked emission control data.
Researchers are prevented from discovering security flaws in software.

It's certainly easier to implement bad security and make it illegal for anyone to notice than it is to implement good security.
— Bruce Schneier

DRM Fallout

Some users report losing copies of their own music when unsubscribing from the Apple Music service after Apple changed their DRM policies.

I also experienced this removal of music NOT sourced though Apple Music.

As a result seldom listen to music on my iPhone or use iTunes anymore. It was simply too much trouble to restore the music I was actually listening to.

VLC Player is DRM-free and allows me to watch without being watched.

Learn More

More about DRM and related issues:

Defective by Design is a grass roots organization working together to eliminate DRM as a threat to innovation in media, the privacy of readers, and freedom for computer users.
Defective by Design's Guide to DRM-free living lists any suppliers of digital media provide files free of DRM and do not require the use of proprietary software (literature, video, audio and software).
DRM Repeat offenders include Microsoft, Netflix, Sony and Amazon's Kindle.
The Free Software Foundation is a nonprofit with a worldwide mission to promote computer user freedom and to defend the rights of all free software users.

Related Resources

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Updated: March 6, 2025