UK National Consumer Council urges MP's for DRM safeguards

January 18, 2006

More news on the DRM front. In
a submission to the All Party Parliamentary Internet Group, or APIG, the
UK NCC consumer group are saying that DRM is constricting legitimate
use of digital content for consumers and they have little faith in companies
policing the situation for us.

In
particular, the NCC cited Sony's controversial use of rootkit-like
software on some music CDs as evidence that self-regulation isn't working.

"Because of the current situation, consumers face
security risks to their equipment, limitations on their use of products,
poor information when purchasing products and unfair contract terms," said
Jill Johnstone, director of policy at the NCC, in a statement.

"Whilst we recognise the value of
intellectual-property rights, we have little confidence in self-regulation
by the industry. We welcome this opportunity to present our concerns to
MPs and hope that this will ultimately lead to an improvement the rights
of consumers," Johnstone added.

The group will examine among
other things, protections for the consumer if a DRM is discontinued and they
also have under consideration what legal sanctions are in order for
those who circumvent DRM systems. We should probably stay tuned to this debate!

Source: ZDNet UK