What Digital Britain would look like if it was based on fact, not special pleading

By at 2:25 pm Tuesday, Feb 10

My latest Guardian column is up -- it's a fantasy alternative to Lord Carter's recommendations for the Internet in the Digital Britain report, one in which the best evidence on building a digital nation is deployed:
If the objective here is to secure Britain's digital future, the most important thing we can do with DRM is avoid it. After all, DRM's most notable effect on the market is to undermine competition by making companies that produce add-ons to popular products liable to lawsuits because they have to break the DRM to do so. Britain today has a booming economy in small firms that refill and resell printer cartridges - interoperating without permission. But the software equivalent - making DRMed music and games play on new hardware, for example - is prohibited by law.

Giving the whip hand to incumbents is no way to safeguard an innovative future.

Digital Britain report: Why Lord Carter should get real
Previously:

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Cory Doctorow

Upcoming appearances

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