Is The Consumer Backlash Against DRM Starting To Make Them Sweat?

Consumers don’t like DRM and neither do we, but quite honestly—we thought no one cared what we liked and disliked.

Now Ars Technica seems to think that DRM producers are starting to sweat from the heat of the anti-DRM consumer backlash.

You all know the slogan: “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” At the Digital Rights Strategies conference in New York City, a similar message could be heard: “DRM doesn’t anger consumers, content owners abusing DRM anger consumers.”

And then there’s this little nugget of hilarity:

At a conference convened by the overlords of DRM, Sony vice president Scott Smyers admits that he circumvents the copy protection on DVDs (CSS) in order to make backups for personal use. Apparently Mr. Smyers doesn’t agree with Hollywood or the Register of Copyrights, both of which argue that “backups” can readily be had in the form of new copies you can buy at the store. The corporate hypocrisy is obvious: what the corporate parent demands (DRM that prevents DVD copying), even its own employee disregards. We can’t blame him.

DRM advocates getting nervous about consumer backlash [Ars Technica]
(Photo:Getty)

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