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

Dear Ruben Safir,

As most of us are cooped up in our homes due to the ongoing COVID-19
pandemic, it's somewhat natural that we turn to online movies, music,
and other media to help pass the time. For most people, this involves
turning to Internet streaming for convenient, "all-in-one"
services that promise an endless array of recommendations to while
away the hours. "Binging" is all well and good every once in a while,
but we should remain careful that the ways we're getting our media
don't come with compromises to our freedom. As we've mentioned
before, Netflix and other giant media providers are responsible
for keeping the practice of DRM (Digital Restrictions Management)
alive, and it's important not to provide them with the subscription
fees they need to keep going. It's also important, even under less
dire circumstances, to support businesses and Web sites that provide
DRM-free media, and to promote them to our friends. So to help provide
you with a plethora of DRM-free and often gratis places to stream from
while keeping your rights, here's a few choice selections from our
Guide to DRM-free Living.

When it comes to finding good videos to watch during times of crisis,
we'd be remiss if we didn't mention the Internet Archive. This
section of the digital library contains bona-fide cinematic
masterpieces like Nosferatu, as well as "classics" of a
different sort like Plan 9 from Outer Space. Many of these
works have been voluntarily uploaded to the Archive by their
creators, or, like Night of the Living Dead, have fallen into
the public domain due to some of the vagaries and finer points in
United States copyright law.

Bandcamp remains a favorite when it comes to how to get your
music. Not only is every artist, album, and track listed on it free
from DRM, but it's a good way to support your favorite independent
artists, as well as discover new ones. And while everyone's shipping might be a little
delayed, many artists sell physical copies of their work on the site
as well, meaning that those of us who prefer physical media don't have
to be left in the lurch. Plus, it's worth mentioning that Bandcamp is
one of the main places musicians working in the free culture
movement go to share their works first.

Of course, you can also avoid streaming services that are compromised by
DRM by simply going "local," using standalone video and audio players
like the ever popular VLC media player or mpv to play your
local collection of media. For diving into free culture music, there
are few better places than Libre.fm. And if you're really ambitious, look into
hosting your very own music stream for you and your friends using
self-hosted tools like Airsonic or Funkwhale. Take that,
Spotify!

Time under quarantine is also the perfect opportunity to learn
about new topics -- even the fight against DRM itself! The
LibrePlanet video library is an excellent place to find talks
covering issues relating to the Defective by Design campaign, such as
Cory Doctorow's keynote presentation on the "software you can go to
jail for talking about", this 2019 session from the Library
Freedom Institute, and a talk given on the Right to Repair
movement.

No matter what types of media you enjoy or what your favorite genres
are, your friends at Defective by Design sincerely wish you the best
in this difficult period. And if you've found the information we've
listed above helpful, visit this link to learn how you can support
the campaign. In addition to our Twitter account, a
platform we recommend only with caveats, the Defective by Design
campaign is now on Mastodon at -at-endDRM. To show your support of
the campaign publicly, you can use the #drmfree or
#defectivebydesign hashtags from your own favorite microblogging
service.

Happy and healthy hacking!

Greg Farough

Campaigns Manager