DRM opponents call on U2 frontman

Impressed by his stand on AIDS and third-world debt, a free and open software group has asked technologists to sign a petition calling on the lead singer of U2 to meet with them to discuss what it claims is the threat posed by DRM.

DefectiveByDesign.org is aiming to collect around 10,000 signatures, which it hopes will encourage Bono into a face-to-face meeting. The group says it is focusing on Bono because of his "social activism and leadership in the music industry", but also because of his links to Apple’s iTunes, which the campaigners see as a leading propagator of DRM technology.

"U2's endorsement of the iPod has led to a huge financial windfall for Apple's iTunes. The problem is that all Apple's iTunes music is distributed with DRM handcuffs. The campaign is asking Bono to take a lead in encouraging the removal of these handcuffs,” the group claimed.

DefectiveByDesign claims DRM is a simply a scheme by which record companies will "control consumers and keep artists locked into unfair contracts". The petition calls on Bono to come out in support of technology free of restrictions, and expose what the campaigners claim is the myth that musicians demand locks on technology and culture.