The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EEF) has warned that the scope of innovation will be limited if World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) accepts plans to include rights management in the HTML5 formatting language.
EEF has objected to inclusion of digital rights management (DRM) in the First Public Working Draft from the HTML working group of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).
According to the rights campaigners, these considerations would limit ability to share images and videos, as well as the proposals would form a ‘black box’ that the entertainment business could use to control what is done with media online.
The move forms part of EFF’s long-running participation in standards processes, combating the entertainment firms and DRM vendors that seek permanent control over disruptive technologies.
The current case focuses on the proposed Encrypted Media Extensions (EME), which is apparently same as other web technologies, while was basically different in purpose.
EFF international director Danny O’Brien said that when EME was finally ultimately declared in-scope for the HTML working group, the decision was made by W3C’s executive team, despite discontent among key standards developers and the subsequent protest of more than twenty thousand technologists and groups, including EFF.
"While disappointment at that decision outside the W3C has been widespread, the debate on the problems of DRM for that the web platform within the consortium has been muted," O’Brien said.
"Its strategic advisory committee of W3C members has until now not spoken on the decision, despite many of that community having privately expressed concern."
The final version of that update to HTML 5 is scheduled to go live in 2014.
