Supporters of anti-circumvention legislation often dismiss consumer concerns by arguing that "if you don't like DRM, don't buy the product." In other words, no one is forcing anyone to buy products with DRM. Leaving aside the fact that this may not be true – students may increasingly find that they are required to buy electronic texts for their courses that come in DRM-only packages – consumers often don't know that they are buying products with technological restrictions. Most consumers know little if anything about DRMs and the limitations that may be placed on consumer entertainment products such as CDs, DVDs, video games, or digital download services. While there may some limited disclosures – DVDs indicate the region code, if your eyesight is good enough you might notice that some copy-controlled CDs warn on the back corner that they may not play on all computers, and digital download services all feature lengthy user agreements that few consumers will ever read – they are plainly insufficient and the government should not support the legal fiction that "informed" consumers are knowingly purchasing products that contain a host of limitations.
Post Tagged with: "drm labelling"

Law Bytes
Episode 235: Teresa Scassa on the Alberta Clearview AI Ruling That Could Have a Big Impact on Privacy and Generative AI
byMichael Geist

May 5, 2025
Michael Geist
Search Results placeholder
Recent Posts
Why the Government’s Plan for Warrantless Access to Internet Subscriber Information Will Lead to Millions of Disclosure Demands Each Year
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 235: Teresa Scassa on the Alberta Clearview AI Ruling That Could Have a Big Impact on Privacy and Generative AI
What Is With This Government and Privacy?: Political Party Privacy Safeguards Removed in “Affordability Measures” Bill
More Than Just Phone Book Data: Why the Government is Dangerously Misleading on its Warrantless Demands for Internet Subscriber Information
Privacy At Risk: Government Buries Lawful Access Provisions in New Border Bill