New mobile digital rights app launches but not for iPhone users
Digital rights campaigner Electronic Frontier Foundation has launched its own EFF mobile app with the aim of alerting users to issues and campaigns.
Users will get a notification and be able to one-click connect to the EFF action center to help fight for freedom online. Unless they happen to be iPhone users.
Writing on the EFF blog Corrynne McSherry the foundation's intellectual property director says, "Sadly, though, we had to leave out Apple devices and the folks who use them. Why? Because we could not agree to the outrageous terms in Apple's Developer Agreement and Apple's DRM requirements".
The blog post highlights a number of terms in Apple's Developer Agreement including the ban on reverse engineering and exclusive distribution restrictions as being bad for both developers and users.
The EFF also objects to Apple's imposition of DRM, McSherry says, "Contract restrictions aside, the final barrier was knowing that we’d be required to include a form of Digital Rights Management (DRM). DRM means that Apple is putting technical restrictions on what you can and can’t do with your app. When we create tools for EFF, we want them to be broadly available to others to use, adapt, and customize".
It has started an online petition to Apple asking the company to revisit its developer agreement.
Meantime if you're an Android user you can download the EFF app from the Play Store and start receiving alerts. Presumably these will include updates on how the Apple petition is progressing so you can keep your iPhone owning friends in the loop.
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