CFA Calls on FTC to Require Electronic Marketplaces to Label Products Locked with Digital Protection
CFA has joined a group of publishers, authors, consumer rights advocates and technologists to call on the Federal Trade Commission to require electronic marketplaces that sell digital products to accurately label products they sell, particularly in regards to whether those products are locked with some kind of digital protection measure, sometimes called DRM. The confusing, inconsistent labeling practices in digital content marketplaces, such as Amazon’s Kindle, Unboxed, and Audible stores; Apple’s iTunes and iBooks stores; Google Play; the Kobo and B&N ebook store and many others create a confusing spectrum of restrictions that consumers sometimes struggle to understand. Far more urgent, though, is the absence of any consistent signal to shoppers informing them about whether a given product is DRM-free or DRM-encumbered.
