What You Must Know About DRM

12 Privacy Protection Tips for Consumers It is important to remember that the Internet remains a highly unregulated environment. As a precautionary step, consumers need to understand that they may be giving up their privacy in exchange for the use of free or inexpensive digital content, based on a DRM model. Consumers are strongly encouraged to read privacy policies, be highly selective when offering their personal information to Web sites, and only deal with reputable organizations that clearly state that personal information: · will not be collected without consent; · will not be used for secondary purposes; · will be held in secure databases; and · will not be retained for unnecessarily long periods of time. Privacyactivism, a non-profit organization, has recently released version 1.0 of a unique consumer video game called Carabella, which "highlights the ways that consumers' privacy and fair use rights are being whittled away by digital rights management technologies, online spyware and data profiling services." 41 The game attempts to raise awareness of personal tracking, how to surf anonymously, and raises privacy and fair use issues with peer-to-peer networks and online subscription services. Readers of this paper are encouraged to access this creative video game.