Since the late 1990s, a handful of media and technology companies has waged war against the public, imposing digital restrictions on the technology we use.. Here is Defective by Design's look at some of the most significant events in the past 10 years fighting against DRM. If there are important moments missing (which there may be), please send them to us! Despite a number of victories over DRM in specific areas, DRM is far from dead. Whether companies will control and restrict us through our technology remains to be decided, and the battle is now.

Which brings us to an important announcement: Tuesday May 4, 2010 will be the Day Against DRM. The FSF will be working with other anti-DRM groups and anti-DRM activists from all over the world to raise awareness and mobilize the public. So spread the word by sharing this announcement, and putting the buttons below on your site. If you want to follow the action or be involved, contact info@defectivebydesign.org or sign up here. And read on! Past victories could inspire your activism this year...





The Decade in DRM: 2000-2009

(Including four pre-2000 events that helped set the stage for the years to come.)

Defective by Design continues to identify DRM-crippled products, aiming to cast DRM as an anti-social technology, and to abolish DRM as a social practice.

Conclusion

It's interesting that the decade opened and closed with battles over ebooks. Years before Amazon deleted copies of George Orwell's 1984 from users' Kindles, a visiting conference presenter was actually jailed for understanding and publishing Adobe's ebook DRM, a hint at the draconian direction we were headed in. Richard Stallman identified the hypothetical threat to our books in "The Right to Read", but now some of the biggest tech companies in the world (including Amazon and Apple) are making this nightmare scenario a reality.

So, if we're going to create a world that is DRM-free through this final transition away from physical media (as CDs, DVDs, and maybe even printed books become obsolete), anti-DRM activists must be vigilant. We hope everyone reading this will participate in this year's International Day Against DRM on May 4th. If you want to follow the action or be involved, contact info@defectivebydesign.org or sign up here. Let's keep writing history!





