Free Software Foundation Urges Jobs to Drop DRM

There's been over a month since Steve Jobs' "Thoughts on music" hit the web like a storm. The open letter talked about the current state of media content, about digital rights management and about Apple's proprietary DRM solution, FairPlay.

The CEO pleaded for the abolition of DRM and said it was all in hands of the major labels to lose the digital protection requirements. He said they will happily remove DRM from content available on iTunes, but they will not open up FairPlay, for a series of plausible reasons.

At one point, it looked as though EMI was taking bold steps towards losing DRM protection, but words of that happening were not heard since.

A branch of the Free Software Foundation known as DefectiveByDesign launched an online petition on March 6 asking the Cupertino CEO to "set the ethical example" and remove DRM form their iTunes content. "As the largest purveyor of DRMed music, Apple carries a large part of the responsibility for the situation in which consumers now find themselves," said the petition.

Apple is under legal stress from several European states that will not accept the DRM restrictions for iTunes Store content. They are unfair to customers, limiting their use of the rightfully-bought music or video files, and ultimately illegal, according to European Consumer Groups.

The Apple CEO is also invited to use his influence as largest stakeholder at Disney and remove the DRM solution from the company's products. "You have the direct power to do this," reads the petition.

The petition will be kept open all month, until April's Fool, when it will be sent to Jobs, along with a jester hat. The petition's initial goal of 1,000 signatures was reached during the first five hours.

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