An anti-Digital Rights Management (DRM) activist group plans this weekend to stage “flash mobs” to “warn Apple customers of the dangers of DRM in iTunes and Apple software” at Apple Store locations in six cities around the country.
DefectiveByDesign.org is a campaign spearheaded by the Free Software Foundation, a group that advoates the use of free software. DefectiveByDesign.com claims that by restricting how software or files can be used, DRM-equipped products are “defective by design.”
“This campaign will identify these ‘defective’ products, and target them for elimination. Our aim is the abolition of DRM as a social practice,” reads the campaign’s manifesto on its Web site.
Music downloaded from Apple’s iTunes Music Store is encrypted using FairPlay, a DRM scheme that limits how many devices the song can be played on and how many times a playlist can be burned to an audio CD. Apple has seen increasing pressure in Norway in recent days to change its DRM policies following a challenge by the Consumer Ombudsman.
DefectiveByDesign.org claims that “DRM Elimination Crew members” — described by DefectiveByDesign.org as a “flash mob,” will be on hand outside Apple retail store locations in New York, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle and Plano, Texas.
Ironically, the advocacy site dedicated to the unencumbered access of information requires visitors to enroll with a username, e-mail address and postal code before they can get further information on the upcoming event.
Apple did not respond to requests for comments as Playlist posted this article.
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