Apparently many libraries, including the ones in my country, are moving over to a system where you’re not allowed to digitally download the epub file anymore. You’re only allowed to borrow the book, and read it, in a closed ecosystem: an app. This per definition then excludes the majority of e-ink readers that don’t run Android. This is due to Directive (EU) 2019/882 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on the accessibility requirements for products and services (Text with EEA relevance) (source) entering into force June 28 this year.
As the Adobe DRM solution hasn’t been updated for years, it isn’t capable of fulfilling all the requirements that this law lays out without endangering the DRM solution. Text-to-speech is one function that isn’t fully supported by Adobe for example. This means that there are apparently two directions to go for full compliance, Readium DRM which is barely supported as well or a closed app ecosystem.
This is frustrating on so many levels, especially if I would like to borrow an ebook in my native language that isn’t available elsewhere on the web, which is often the situation for books in my language (and I’m guessing most languages outside of English). The alternatives left is borrowing a physical copy, or buying it.
The enshittification of everything continues…
Like Louis Rossman said, when piracy provides the best user experience, your industry has a problem.
Like it or not, this is still consumerist rhetoric.
Anti-consumers and anti-suckers will say “do whatever gives you the best deal.”
It’s all business at the end of the day. These companies aren’t our friends.
At a time when reading books is dwindling we who have as our ultimate sole purpose the distribution of books have decided to make it more difficult to have access to books in the hope we might make a little more money through our self destruction.
I don’t think this is a case of trying to make more money. From what I understood, it’s an unintended consequence of accessibility rules coming into place. Ironically, a law that is meant to promote inclusion, will ultimately make the books less accessible.
I don’t think this is a case of trying to make more money.
Sure it is: the only reason for DRM is to make more money.
From what I understood, it’s an unintended consequence of accessibility rules coming into place.
It’s a fully intended consequence of DRM refusing to adapt to said accessibility rules. Closed ecosystems make DRM easier, which was always the goal for publishers.
Exactly this.
Welcome to Readarr and Calibre, my friend.
And Okular!
Piracy is a service problem. If Videogames solved this problem, so can books. If changing these laws closes down libraries further, all of our EU representatives that worked on this legislation failed us immensely, libraries are already nothing but a faint whimper of the idea that started them off, and could fulfill an important cultural role for so much more folks. If only they were allowed.
But no. We have to think about those multibillion businesses who might miss a couple bucks left and right. Don’t know if anyone used that adobe DRM in the last 5 years but it’s basically a way to bully paying customers into an ecosystem, and you’re telling me they’re making it worse? Lol.
At least you could easily DeDRM ADE. This seems a lot trickier due to there not being one universal solution and it being in-app.
True :)
Piracy is a service problem.
Hey look everyone, he repeated it!
Go to any country without an egregious amount of excessive wealth and you’ll see fast how worldwide, piracy is a solution to the ever-growing disparity in wealth.
If text-to-speech doesn’t work, then is it not discriminatory against blind people?
As mentioned, this is one of the reasons why Adobe DRM couldn’t longer be used according to the interpretations of the EU directive, and why they “had to” remove the option to download the DRM-protected ePub file and move to an app instead where they could make text-to-speech work.
And my reader does run Android. However, for privacy and security reasons, it is never allowed to go online. So it would not be able to read such books anyway.
