> [...] this argument [that DRM is a necessary evil] rests on the assumption that the web needs those content producers more than those content producers need the web -- and I'm not convinced that's an accurate portrayal of reality. It is fair to note that, especially with the rise of smart devices from phones to tablets to TVs, you could envision a world in which the big content producers "abandoned" the web and only put their content in proprietary DRM'd apps. And maybe that does happen. But my response to that is... so what?
I have to agree with the author here - so what? I don't think such "proprietary DRM'd apps" would have any trouble taking off for people seeking content from big providers, so why does W3C feel it needs to bend so far to the will of Netflix and the like?