Thread by @doctorow

@rectangleboy @beka_valentine @SpakFish Yup.

I once went to a DRM standardization meeting where they were seeking to define "the family," so that they could enable "share with your family."

The obvious problems with a group of rich, white, US-EU corporate executives defining "family" were on display from the start.

@rectangleboy @beka_valentine @SpakFish They had use-cases for "families" with a summer house in France, a luxury SUV with seat-back video, and a yacht.

The didn't support the use-case of "Mom is a nurse in Tokyo, Dad lives in Manila, Srother is a construction worker in Saudi and Sister is an au-pair in France."

@rectangleboy @beka_valentine @SpakFish One use-case they wrestled with: Mom and Dad divorce and start new households, but have joint custody over daughter, 12. She changes households once/week, resigning from one "family" and joining another 52 times/year.

@rectangleboy @beka_valentine @SpakFish This was obviously going to trip the system's "content laundering" security, and lock this child out of her media. As a mitigation, they proposed that she could call an 800 number and explain the circumstances of her parents' divorce to a CSR subcontractor every week.

@rectangleboy @beka_valentine @SpakFish This proposal - forcing children to recount the painful details of their parents' divorce to strangers every week - was immediately adopted as a reasonable solution to this problem and we swiftly moved on.

@rectangleboy @beka_valentine @SpakFish It was apparent in this group - and every other DRM standardization group I participated in - that none of the participants expected to have to labor under the oppressive systems they were creating. Each one had a carve out for "professional equipment."

@rectangleboy @beka_valentine @SpakFish This is the shitty tech adoption curve in action: to get a bad thing into common use, first force it on people who have no say in the matter, then work your way up the privilege gradient until it is universal.

@rectangleboy @beka_valentine @SpakFish That remote ignition killswitch in subprime cars? It's now in Teslas. tiremeetsroad.com/2021/03/18/tes…