Defective by Design

<h2 id="position">Position</h2>
<p>According to their website, DBD believes that DRM is used to control how consumers use the technology they are meant to own, as well as who can produce and distribute media—which the DBD equates to <a href="/facts/Book_burning/fbmnxoFL">book burning</a>—while conducting <a href="/facts/Mass_surveillance/GgAEJtso">mass surveillance</a> of <a href="/facts/Media_consumption/YWTXCw3u">media consumption</a> habits. They argue that DRM "is designed to take away every possible use of digital media, regardless of legal rights, and sell some of these functionalities back as severely limited services."<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a>
</p><p>DBD argues that DRM does not help, but rather hurts authors, publishers, studios, labels, and similar media producers and suppliers—especially those in <a href="/facts/Independent_media/eQAFFbP6">independent media</a>—by forcing them to work with distribution services that are difficult to switch away from. They also argue that DRM is not meant to prevent <a href="/facts/Copyright_infringement/33JDsS5S">copyright infringement</a> as claimed by proponents and is in fact completely separate from <a href="/facts/Copyright/7GHEWEx9">copyright</a>, as if DRM really was used for those purposes, "every distribution method for that particular piece of media would have to be distributed by an uncrackable DRM-encumbered distribution platform, which is impossible on its own."<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a>
</p><p>Rather, DBD states DRM only helps technology companies and media conglomerates that profit from these by forcing producers and suppliers to remain working under them while also forcing users to continue using their services, regardless of the associated hassles and costs (such as having to maintain an <a href="/facts/Internet_connection/EMbwSrnK">internet connection</a> with <a href="/facts/Always-on_DRM/cBh83QkI">always-on DRM</a>, or having to pay for otherwise basic features), by enforcing significant negatives of attempting to switch to other services, share media on DRM-protected services, or modify DRM-protected technology. DBD suggests that this way, DRM is a form of <a href="/facts/Monopoly/BXIQWUmR">monopolization</a>. DBD also argues that DRM allows these companies to micromanage media and control how they are distributed, even to the point of arbitrarily making media unavailable or deleting digital copies of said media from those who own it.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a>
</p>
<h2 id="history">History</h2>
<p>Defective By Design is a joint effort by the Free Software Foundation and CivicActions, a company that develops online advocacy campaigns. The chief organizers are Gregory Heller of CivicActions, <a href="/facts/Peter_T._Brown/l9EbfMBh">Peter T. Brown</a>, executive director of the FSF, and <a href="/facts/Henry_Poole_(technologist)/89STuGmn">Henry Poole</a>, a CivicActions member who is also a director of the FSF.
</p><p>The campaign was launched in May 2006, with an anti-DRM protest at <a href="/facts/WinHEC/qt66bsal">WinHEC</a>. The protest featured FSF members in yellow hazmat suits "handing out pamphlets explaining that <a href="/facts/Microsoft/nGIDDXdx">Microsoft</a> products are – in the words of the key slogan for the campaign – 'defective by design' because of the DRM technologies included in them".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a>
</p><p>Since then, the campaign has launched a number of actions with varying degrees of success. The campaign claims that its phone-in campaign against the <a href="/facts/Recording_Industry_Association_of_America/8a7K0Ubf">Recording Industry Association of America</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> and related organizations around the world resulted in thousands of calls from people questioning the industry's position on DRM. On the other hand, efforts to meet with <a href="/facts/Bono/LWHXEyw6">Bono</a> of <a href="/facts/U2/4nxeFIy8">U2</a>, a prominent supporter of Apple's DRM-regulated <a href="/facts/ITunes/pdXPE33T">iTunes</a>, have so far met with no success. However, four major record labels dropped their pending lawsuits and joined with Apple and Microsoft to eliminate DRM from music sales.
</p><p>DBD proclaimed October 3, 2006, to be a "<a href="/facts/Day_Against_DRM/UAuzQjnV">Day Against DRM</a>", and organized several events outside key <a href="/facts/Apple_Computer/oTJYta3k">Apple</a> stores in the US and the UK.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> Hazmat suits were again worn by protesters and leaflets were handed out to the public explaining Apple's use of DRM in their iTunes music store and on their <a href="/facts/IPod/Uagdn1F6">iPod</a> media players.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a>
</p><p>On January 30, 2007, the campaign organized along with the <a href="/facts/Free_Software_Foundation_anti-Windows_campaigns/Fk4KPDao">BadVista</a> campaign at the <a href="/facts/Times_Square/MB9V2j7y">Times Square</a>. Protesters in hazmat suits then handed literature to attendants about the dangers of <a href="/facts/Windows_Vista/IASEUCTB">Windows Vista</a>'s DRM and Trusted Computing features, as well as handing out CDs containing a <a href="/facts/Free_software/IaoVtJXn">free software</a> replacement for Windows Vista.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a>
</p>
<h2 id="campaigns">Campaigns</h2>

<h3>Tagging campaign</h3>
<p>Since 2007, the Defective by Design site encourages users to use the <a href="/facts/Tag_(metadata)/9CfRkCpI">tagging</a> feature of <a href="/facts/Amazon.com/YzUTUVE8">Amazon.com</a>, <a href="/facts/Slashdot/vVpMuby2">Slashdot</a> and on other sites that allow tagging, to mark certain products with the 'defectivebydesign' tag.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> Items targeted include <a href="/facts/DVD_player/ES2eIkIL">DVD players</a>, DRM-restricted DVD titles, HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc titles, <a href="/facts/Windows_XP/IozrkAYS">Windows XP</a> and higher, the <a href="/facts/Zune/qbvKhe1R">Zune</a>, and the <a href="/facts/IPod/Uagdn1F6">iPod</a>.
</p>
<h3>#CancelNetflix campaign</h3>
<p>In 2013, the Defective by Design site started a tagging campaign against <a href="/facts/Netflix/TKtlFVY9">Netflix</a>, an online commercial streaming service that developed new implementations of DRM for the web,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a> to challenge <a href="/facts/W3C/lGWmhF6M">W3C</a>'s decision of introducing DRM to web technologies.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a> Despite the popularity of the campaign, W3C showed greenlight for DRM.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a>
</p>
<h2 id="see-also">See also</h2>
<ul><li><a href="/facts/Broadcast_Protection_Discussion_Group/CGWqDLIy">Broadcast Protection Discussion Group</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Free_Software_Foundation_anti-Windows_campaigns/Fk4KPDao">Free Software Foundation anti-Windows campaigns</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Planned_obsolescence/qzRRaKzf">Planned obsolescence</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Tivoization/yN3AV9dz">Tivoization</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Trusted_Computing/RRDzNIRl">Trusted Computing</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Enshittification/TVpte8Y3">Enshittification</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Dead_Internet_theory/vebr9N7U">Dead Internet theory</a></li></ul>

<h2 id="external-links">External links</h2>

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Defective by Design.

<ul><li><a href="https://www.defectivebydesign.org">Official website</a> </li>
<li><a href="/facts/Richard_Stallman/hhoPN0Mw">Stallman, Richard</a> (Nov 18, 2016). <a href="https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/can-you-trust.html">"Can you trust your computer?"</a>. <i>Essay</i>.</li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1"><p>"We oppose DRM. | Defective by Design". www.defectivebydesign.org. Retrieved 2023-08-26. <a href="https://www.defectivebydesign.org/" target="_blank">https://www.defectivebydesign.org/</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:2"><p>"What is DRM? | Defective by Design". www.defectivebydesign.org. Retrieved 2023-08-26. <a href="https://www.defectivebydesign.org/what_is_drm" target="_blank">https://www.defectivebydesign.org/what_is_drm</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:3"><p>"DRM Frequently Asked Questions | Defective by Design". www.defectivebydesign.org. Retrieved 2023-08-26. <a href="https://www.defectivebydesign.org/faq" target="_blank">https://www.defectivebydesign.org/faq</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:4"><p>"DRM Frequently Asked Questions | Defective by Design". www.defectivebydesign.org. Retrieved 2023-08-26. <a href="https://www.defectivebydesign.org/faq" target="_blank">https://www.defectivebydesign.org/faq</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:5"><p>Byfield, Bruce (May 23, 2006). "FSF launches anti-DRM campaign outside WinHEC 2006". NewsForge. Archived from the original on 2015-07-06. Retrieved 2007-04-18. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150706194805/http://archive09.linux.com/articles/54587?theme=print" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20150706194805/http://archive09.linux.com/articles/54587?theme=print</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:6"><p>"Freedom Rings The RIAA". Retrieved 2008-01-21. <a href="https://www.defectivebydesign.org/136" target="_blank">https://www.defectivebydesign.org/136</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:7"><p>PeterB (August 31, 2006). "October 3rd Declared "Day Against DRM"". defectivebydesign.org. Retrieved 2007-04-18. <a href="https://www.defectivebydesign.org/blog/announce_day_against_drm" target="_blank">https://www.defectivebydesign.org/blog/announce_day_against_drm</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:8"><p>Anderson, Nate (October 3, 2006). "Welcome to "Day Against DRM"". Ars Technica, LLC. Retrieved 2007-04-18. <a href="https://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20061003-7893.html" target="_blank">https://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20061003-7893.html</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:9"><p>Sullivan, John (January 30, 2007). "A BadVista at Microsoft's New York launch parties". BadVista.org. Retrieved 2008-01-12. <a href="http://badvista.fsf.org/blog/a-badvista-at-microsofts-new-york-launch-parties" target="_blank">http://badvista.fsf.org/blog/a-badvista-at-microsofts-new-york-launch-parties</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:10"><p>"Amazon Product Tagging Campaign". defectivebydesign.org. Retrieved 2007-04-24. <a href="https://www.defectivebydesign.org/amazon" target="_blank">https://www.defectivebydesign.org/amazon</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:11"><p>Park, Anthony; Watson, Mark (2017-04-18). "HTML5 Video in IE 11 on Windows 8.1". Netflix Technology Blog. Medium. Retrieved 2021-01-05. <a href="https://netflixtechblog.com/html5-video-in-ie-11-on-windows-8-1-d3a1d53654f1" target="_blank">https://netflixtechblog.com/html5-video-in-ie-11-on-windows-8-1-d3a1d53654f1</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:12"><p>Jaffe, Jeff (9 May 2013). "Perspectives on Encrypted Media Extension Reaching First Public Working Draft". W3C. Archived from the original on Apr 18, 2023. <a href="https://www.w3.org/blog/2013/05/perspectives-on-encrypted-medi/" target="_blank">https://www.w3.org/blog/2013/05/perspectives-on-encrypted-medi/</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:13"><p>Reinish, Libby (June 27, 2013). "#CancelNetflix: Arrested Development isn't the only thing they screwed up". Defective by Design. Retrieved 2021-01-05. <a href="https://www.defectivebydesign.org/cancelnetflix" target="_blank">https://www.defectivebydesign.org/cancelnetflix</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:14"><p>Doctorow, Cory (2017-07-06). "Amid Unprecedented Controversy, W3C Greenlights DRM for the Web". Electronic Frontier Foundation. Retrieved 2021-01-05. <a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2017/07/amid-unprecedented-controversy-w3c-greenlights-drm-web" target="_blank">https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2017/07/amid-unprecedented-controversy-w3c-greenlights-drm-web</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
</ol>

Defective by Design open-in-new

Defective by Design