Day Against DRM is back. And its timing couldn't be better.

The free and open internet has come under attack in recent weeks. Just last week, the European Parliament voted on the EU Copyright Directive that strengthens publisher rights online, with activists claiming the result to be a victory for everyone who opposes internet freedom. That's why Day Against DRM 2018 couldn't come at a better time.

Now in its 12th year, Day Against DRM is a grass roots campaign that aims to raise awareness of DRM and encourage organization and action against it. Organized by defectivebydesign.org, a team of passionate activists committed to removing DRM, the day is supported by a wide range of other influential organizations (as well as Packt):

• The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
• LeanPub
• Open Rights Group
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• Creative Commons 
• Free Software Foundation

What is DRM?

If you're reading this and wondering what DRM is, exactly, DRM stands for Digital Rights Management - to opponents, it's also know as Digital Restrictions Management. Essentially, it's about imposing restrictions on content online, controlling the ways it can be copied and shared.

For software developers, DRM is particularly important - taken to its logical conclusion, DRM would inhibit open source software to such an extent to render it unrecognizable.

Here at Packt, we take the principles of a DRM free internet seriously. We know that being able to use content in different ways - to have full control over it - is essential if you're a software developer.

That's why we're throwing our support behind Defective by Design's campaign. It's also why all of our digital products are DRM free.

You can learn more about the Day Against DRM here.