Eighteen years after the Defective by Design campaign’s
inception, we’re still continuing the fight against Digital
Restrictions Management (DRM), the practice of imposing
technological restrictions that control what users can do with digital
media — and won’t back down until we’ve won. For our eighteenth
International Day Against DRM (IDAD), we’re targeting an issue
that thousands of computer users around the world will face, whether
they know it yet or not. As Microsoft has decided to end the life of
Windows 10, one of everyone’s least favorite nonfree software
developers has mandated the use of a hardware TPM for those who want
to downgrade to Windows 11, an unnecessary module that will send
thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) of perfectly functioning
machines to your local landfill, potentially setting back e-waste
reduction efforts for years. This doesn’t need to happen.
While TPM has legitimate uses and could theoretically benefit user
security if handled through free software, it is overwhelmingly
used not to protect its actual users, but media conglomerates. Today,
most of the major streaming media platforms utilize the TPM to decrypt
media streams, forcefully placing the decryption out of the user’s
control. Why then require a TPM? It’s easy: by offloading the
decryption to a separate piece of hardware running its own software,
media companies can ensure that users won’t try to access the files
streaming through their own machines.
This situation shows how DRM isn’t just an issue unto itself, or a
problem only technical people should be concerned about. In effect,
this completely unnecessary mandate will do nothing but increase
e-waste worldwide, and give further (and false) credence to the idea
that computers need to be replaced every few years. Enough is enough.
We’re focusing this year’s IDAD on how to break free.
If you follow our other campaigns, you know what’s coming next.
We don’t have to be beholden to the will of companies like Microsoft
and Netflix; our very own, free as in beer and freedom operating
system is available for use right now: GNU/Linux. If you or someone
you know is going to be affected by this forced requirement, we ask
you to take this year’s IDAD as your chance to choose a freer way
instead.
How to participate
-
Try a live version (“distribution”) of the GNU/Linux operating
system or help a friend do the same. We recommend trying one of
these fully free distributions, but others are available
elsewhere. -
Ask around your friends and family if anyone is using Windows 10. If
they are, inform of the issue and let them know now is the time to
upgrade to freedom. -
Organize your own event for IDAD and let us know about it. We can
promote it on social media and with any local FSF/DBD supporters. -
Flood review sites with a real evaluation of Windows 11 —
highlighting the ways it robs users of their rights. -
Challenge yourself to go a “Day without DRM,” and refuse to engage
with media peddled by Disney+, Amazon, Peacock, and others that
don’t respect your digital autonomy. If you need ideas on where to
get started, be sure to check out our Guide to DRM-free Living.
We know not everyone is in a position to, but if you can, can you
support our efforts by making a donation? Or, an associate
membership is a great show of support we can rely on, and an annual
FSF associate membership translates to a mere $2.69 USD per week,
or $0.38 USD per day! We need more resources to continue our work, but
our request is even bigger, because we have to do more. Associate
members will also be able to enjoy all the associate member
benefits. Will you help us reach our year-end fundraising
goal of $400,000 USD this year-end? If you join as a member this
period, we’ll send you a set of five unique postcards to help you
promote computer user freedom.
Thank you for not backing down against DRM, even if it can often seem
like a lost cause. Supporters like you help us to continue our
valuable work.
