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By Jon Gold

October 4, 2013 02:01 PM ET

Network World - The latest version of the World Wide Web Consortium's HTML Working Group charter includes provisions for ongoing work on restrictive content protection systems a decision that has angered groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Free Software Foundation.

The main opposition centers on the controversial Encrypted Media Extension proposal, which would build robust digital rights management capabilities directly into future HTML standards. While EME is still some distance from being officially accepted, its inclusion in the latest draft charter makes that outcome more likely.

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DRM, which is used to control access to online media content like streaming video, is a contentious topic, particularly among free and open-source software advocates.

EME, the FSF wrote in a form letter earlier this year, would expose users to a wide array of restrictions on their web experience.

"[EME] would fly in the face of the W3C's principle of keeping the Web royalty-free -- this is simply a back door for media companies to require proprietary player software. It is willful ignorance to pretend otherwise just because the proposal does not mention particular technologies or DRM schemes by name," the group said.

The EFF echoes the thrust of those remarks in a statement responding to the news that EME would be retained, saying on Wednesday that the group is "deeply disappointed" by the decision.

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Critics slam W3C over inclusion of DRM in HTML5