In an interesting turn of events, Electronic Frontier Foundation – a member of the W3C, has filed a formal objection against including DRM features in the HTML5 draft specification. The rationale behind this move seems to be that this move could become a hindrance in terms of innovation and will cause unnecessary restriction while providing access to valuable content. The final version of this HTML5 draft specification is due to be released next year. The EFF International Director Danny O’Brien, went on to describe the DRM features by saying, “This proposal stands apart from all other aspects of HTML standardization: it defines a new ‘black box’ for the entertainment industry, fenced off from control by the browser and end-user.” A press release from EFF explaining further said, “DRM standards look like normal technical standards but turn out to have quite different qualities. They fail to implement their stated intention – protecting media – while dragging in legal mandates that chill the speech of technologists, lock down technology, and violate property rights by seizing control of personal computers from their owners.” There has been quite a debate recently related to the inclusion of these DRM features into the HTML5 specification and quite a lot of organizations have been lobbying for or against such a standardized technology, which admittedly could turn into an impediment to free speech and work against the way people have been seeing the internet since its heydays. However, some people do argue that it will help in getting rid of proprietary plugins like the Flash and Silverlight, which have since long been used to provide similar content. Proponents for inclusion of DRM into HTML5 also argue that content providers would keep using these plugins until they are convinced about the security of their content which is published online and would keep using those technologies unless HTML5 comes up with a solution ensuring that distribution of proprietary content is in their control.
