Consumer criminality
You know, at first, I thought it was just the software industry. However, the music industry jumped on. As I look around, I realize just how far and wide it has swept. That is, the mindset that every consumer is a potential criminal, and must be treated as such.
Here’s what I mean: think about whenever you buy music from, say, iTunes. You open iTunes, find a song or album you want, and download it. You have new music to listen to; hooray. Here’s the rub, however: you can’t listen to that music in Windows Media Player. Or Songbird. Or Winamp. Or any other player, besides iTunes. Along that same line, you can’t sync it to anything but an iPod. Do you know why? It’s because of DRM. Digital Rights Management(doesn’t that just sound constitutional?). It comes in many forms, the most popular of which is some type of encryption that prevents use without the correct key and decryption tools. DRM’s purpose is exactly what it sounds like: to restrict the usage of a product that you bought and paid for, in the hopes of preventing piracy. I could go on a very long tirade about the merits(and lack thereof) of DRM, however that’s not the entire concern of this post. DRM is an example of a mindset that businesses have of their customers today. The mindset that we’re all criminals. Dirty, soulless thieves that will steal and pillage given the slightest opportunity. Of course, music encryption is only one example of this mindset.
Across the software industry, DRM is everpresent. Ever had to activate your windows license? Enter a key for a video game? Those are all forms of DRM. They’re all there for the same reason. Rights restriction, however, is present in other industries too. Have you ever been leaving a Wal-Mart, or similar establishment, and been stopped and asked for a receipt? The reason for this is, yes-you guessed it-because they assume you’re a criminal. Because you may be stealing something.
Of course, it’s all bluster. There are always methods of circumventing and escaping these violations of right and privacy. Receipt checks are legally unenforcable, and DRM is easily circumvented.
The point of this post, after all, is that in the US, and in many other countries as well, businesses have adopted this agressive, “consumers are criminals” mindset, that is preventing progress and violating rights in so many areas. We, as consumers, need to take a stand against this. There are, as usual, more ways than I can list here to take a stand. Major suggestions are to make sure you know what bills are passing through our legislative branch, and take time to write your representatives and let them know when appropriate that you don’t approve of being treated like a criminal. Civil disobendience and activism also go a long way.