CivicActions

The negotiations between Apple Computer and the French government over Apple's "FairPlay" DRM technology -- which restricts a user's rights to move their songs bought on the iTunes Store to other players -- today brought the light of the Washington Post on the Defective By Design initiative.

Henri Poole, a Free Software Foundation board member, said that such software restrictions infringe on consumer rights and are designed to protect "antiquated business models. "We purchase [songs] and we think we have the same rights we had two years ago, but those rights are being eroded and the [digital rights management] rules can even be changed after you've purchased," he said.

See the article: France Offers Apple a Loophole

Powered by a CivicActions-made website, some very clever actions involving Hazmat suits, and hard-hitting iPod Ad parody graphics designed by HoloCosmos, the initiative has raised awareness and received coverage in nearly 150 articles in the last month.