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@ISIDEWITHQuestionsDomestic PolicyDigital rights managementFree MarketDigital PublishingCopyrightIntellectual property•••13yrs ago

Should the government allow digital publishers to place locks on their content (MP3s, etc)?

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Answer Overview

Response rates from 21.8k Canada voters.

40%
Yes
60%
No
36%
Yes
46%
No
4%
Yes, locks are critical to protecting artist's revenues
14%
Let the free market, instead of the government, decide

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Other Popular Answers

Unique answers from Canada voters whose views went beyond the provided options.

 @aaliyahvfrom New Brunswick  answered…6yrs6Y

Yes, but the government also needs to protect fair use.

 @9VY8CNNfrom British Columbia  answered…2yrs2Y

Yes, but neither should the ability to bypass those locks be penalized

 @B5WZKQJfrom British Columbia  answered…1yr1Y

If can be locked so a purchaser cannot resell/share the content that's fine, but they should not be allowed to remove digitally purchased products from our accounts.

 @B4Q7WZJfrom British Columbia  answered…1yr1Y

No, because this opens up the possibility of switching from a one time purchase to own model to a time-based subscription model, which is fundamentally wrong for many types of digital content

 @B4KJ9LBfrom Ontario  answered…1yr1Y

If the purpose of the lock is prevent people from changing their content, then the answer would be yes. If the purpose of the lock is to prevent fact checking and investigative reporting on the content, then the answer is no. It all depends on the intent behind the publication.

 @B43QV9Mfrom Alberta  answered…1yr1Y

No, the market generally prefers to pay for access to content until the providers make it a pain in the a** then people will pirate which will regulate the providers for better service. If someone can't pay the artist would have never made the sale anyways

 @B3Z39M4answered…1yr1Y

Yes, let them do whatever they want with their content; the protection is easily removed by those who desire to do so anyway.

 @8LG95RHfrom Alberta  answered…6yrs6Y

Yes, as long as they are only enforced for a limited and reasonable time.

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 @ISIDEWITH submitted…2yrs2Y

Elizabeth Warren Walks Back Murder Comments

Congressional Democrats broadly denounced the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson Friday morning, after Republicans started accusing Sen. Elizabeth Warren of excusing violence.“No one's condoning this,” said Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.). “Violence never is the right answer for anything. And it was a horrible murder, a tragic loss for his family.” Warren this week condemned the shooting, but added that people “can be pushed only so far.”"We'll say it over and over," Warren said on MSNBC’S “The ReidOut.” " Violence is never the answer. This guy [Luigi Mangione] gets a trial who's allegedly killed the CEO of UnitedHealth, but you can only push people so far, and then they start to take matters into their own hands."In a statement to POLITICO, Warren said, “Violence is never the answer. Period. I should have been much clearer that there is never a justification for murder.” Top Republicans denounced Warren's comments and the walked-back rhetoric, with House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) calling it “inappropriate and dangerous.”Some House Democrats asked about the incident on Thursday pivoted the conversation to discuss policy options on health care or gun safety.“I don't really know that this is really a space that Congress normally weighs in on,” said Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas). “But at the end of the day, I think it’s an opportunity, because now people are talking about health care and to talk about the fact that this industry has honestly not been as helpful as it could be.”“Violence is never the answer,” said Rep. Troy Carter (D-La.). “We know that there are people suffering, there’s great challenges in healthcare. There's great challenges, and people have, in fact, been wronged, but a process of governance is the way to address that, not violence.”And Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) who denounced the murder, said the killer should be prosecuted and that “I do know that allegedly a ghost gun was used, and we should also ban ghost guns. There's no reason for them beyond the streets.”

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Based on 21.8k responses to this question.

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iSideWith. (2026). “Should the government allow digital publishers to place locks on their content (MP3s, etc)?” — Public Opinion Poll Results. Retrieved June 24, 2026, from https://canada.isidewith.com/polls/292658025

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