Say no to BBC TV DRM

Stop BBC “Digital Rights Management” from disabling your HD TV

The BBC want an offshore consortium called the "Digital Transmission Licensing Administrator" to decide how your high definition TV and video should work. The restrictions are so draconian that they were chucked out by the USA's own courts. So the DTLA has chosen to pick on British TV viewers instead. 
Some rightsholders have threatened the BBC that they won't be able to broadcast high-def shows if the BBC doesn't try to lock up your HD television and tell you how it will work, what you can record, how long you can keep your recordings, and how you can use them.
This is nonsense. US television is DRM free, and UK markets are too lucrative. But the BBC has decided to cave into these threats and wants to put DRM on your next TV set.
The BBC want to do this by scrambling the some of the data that goes with the signal, including the information used by people with hearing and visual disabilities, as well as some of the video-decoding info. Devices will only be allowed to de-scramble this information by agreeing to the US entertainment consortium's restrictions.
And even worse - no HD product from the EU or abroad will work properly, because nobody else uses this DRM. So prices of TVs and videos in the UK will jump up. A mini cartel of products made for the UK alone will force prices to rise, as increased design costs and a closed market will work to make the UK market as uncompetitive as possible.
These plans are now being looked at by Ofcom, who are "minded" to give up their power to decide how TV works in the UK - a power given to them by our government - and give control of our television sets to a corporate "Administrator".
Of course, these plans won't go smoothly - weak scrambling and third party guides will allow some people to avoid some restrictions. Which will lead to new calls for more scrambling, and more device disabling.

 

The BBC want an offshore consortium of entertainment companies called the "Digital Transmission Licensing Administrator" to decide how your high definition TV and video can work. 

The American courts rejected these draconian restrictions, so the DTLA has chosen to pick on British TV viewers instead. 

Some rights-holders have threatened the BBC, demanding the power to control what you can record, how long you can keep your recordings, and how you can use them  They say they will stop supplying HD shows if the BBC doesn't agree. .

But these are empty threats. The UK market is too lucrative to be ignored, and the same rights-holders still sell to huge DRM-free TV networks in the USA. But the BBC has decided to cave into these threats and wants to put DRM on your next TV set.

The BBC want to do this by scrambling some of the data that goes with the signal, including the information used by people with hearing and visual disabilities, as well as some of the video-decoding info. Devices will only be allowed to de-scramble this information by agreeing to apply this entertainment consortium's restrictions, such as deleting your recordings after a certain number of days, or preventing you from recording certain movies in HD quality.

 

More expensive TV sets for the UK

 

And even worse - no HD product from the EU or abroad will work properly in the UK, because nobody else uses this DRM. So prices of TVs and videos in the UK will jump up. 

The BBC's plans are now being looked at by Ofcom, who are in charge of all communications regulations in the UK. Ofcom say they are "minded" to agree to give up their power to decide how TV works in the UK - a power given to them by our government - and give control of our television sets to a corporate multinational "Administrator", the DTLA.

 

We want you to do one thing right now: respond to the Ofcom consultation before April 2. Read our Factsheet and submit your own response.

Take action:

Sign onto ORG's response before March 31. Read it, and send your name, organisation and key objections

Email us at supporters@openrightsgroup.org

Let us know your key objections, including:

1 Restrictions to access for people who are hearing or vision impaired

2 Restrictions to ability to code or use open source products using encrypted information

3 Restrictions on trade and competition

4 Removal of 'fair dealing' rights, such as quotation for news, criticism and review


stop BBC TV DRM