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Read and share online: https://www.defectivebydesign.org/blog/idad_2019_thank_you_defending_right_read

Dear Ruben Safir,

Now that the dust has settled and we have made our voices heard, we
would like to give a sincere thanks to everyone who helped to make the
International Day Against DRM (IDAD) 2019 possible. This is the
thirteenth year that we have come together to voice our dissent
against the unjust power of Digital Restrictions Management
(DRM), and we could not have done it without the help of digital
rights activists from all over the world.

In our continued fight against DRM, we make it clear that we reject a
world in which learning is shackled behind draconian restrictions. On
IDAD 2019, we used our strength in numbers to tell Pearson that
restricting access to textbooks is antithetical to the human right to
education. Here in Boston, we protested outside the Pearson building
and spoke with a wide range of students and shoppers about the
importance of their digital rights. Demonstrating our own commitment
to a culture based on sharing rather than exclusion, we also worked in
the FSF office, and remotely with collaborators from around the world,
to make contributions to ethical and DRM-free educational
materials.

The digital version of the dust jacket we made for this year's
event is already available in six languages, with at least two more
currently in the final stages of editing. It will remain freely
available for you to print and share to spread the message of our
resistance to media restriction. If you have a translation into your
native language that you want to contribute, please write to us at
campaigns@fsf.org.

With the help of our 15 participating organizations this year,
including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Creative Commons, APRIL,
and Question Copyright, we proved once again that DRM is an issue that
affects all owners of digital media, and is not just the concern of
technologists. We would especially like to thank the FCK DRM
campaign for highlighting our efforts in a newsletter that reaches
more than eight million people worldwide, as well as No Starch
Press, Leanpub, and Libreture for sales on DRM-free
works that they held in conjunction with this year's IDAD.

Defective by Design continues its fight against DRM year-round, and
there's still much more to be done. Just in the last week we have
heard of the Disney+ streaming service's use of the highest level of
Widevine DRM, and the forthcoming Google Stadia project is
going to make a strong attempt at eliminating even the idea of digital
game ownership. Here at Defective by Design, we are already
brainstorming new ways to combat these attacks on our freedom, but to
continue doing so we need your help.

To fight DRM, we need vigilant activists who will stand firm in
defending the digital freedoms of those in their communities. We
encourage our existing community of anti-DRM activists to stand fast
in their commitment to a world without digital restrictions. Plan
actions in your area, or collaborate with us in real-time in the
#dbd channel of the Freenode Internet Relay Chat (IRC)
network. Given the vast amount of resources corporations like Pearson,
Disney, Netflix, Amazon, and Google have at their disposal, we are
reliant on the community for donations to Defective by Design's
mission to end DRM once and for all.

All of us at Defective by Design extend our heartfelt thanks and
appreciation to everyone who participated this year, and we welcome
all of those who are just now joining the fight.

Thank you!

Sincerely,

Greg Farough

Campaigns Manager

Photo copyright: © 2019 Free Software Foundation, Inc., by Valessio
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