The Free Speech Flag is a symbol of personal liberty used to promote freedom of speech. Designed by artist John Marcotte, the flag and its colors correspond to a cryptographic key which enabled users to copy HD DVDs and Blu-ray Discs. It was created on May 1, 2007, during the AACS encryption key controversy. In response to attempts to remove the key from the Internet, netizens publicized the cryptographic key on the news aggregator website Digg, in an example of the Streisand effect.