Owners of the Steam version of Battlefield: Bad Company 2 have a nice surprise coming with the release of the newest patch: Removal of the game's SecuROM DRM. That update is in addition to a number of other fixes and changes included in the patch, version 522175, which range from better notifications when failing to join a multiplayer server to the server browser now sorting by lowest ping by default.
The patch for Steam users will come slightly later than it will for those with a retail copy, as it has to go through additional QA testing. It may be wise to hold off on updating for the time being, as there have been reports on the EA forums of crashing and freezing issues for some users. As the patch is only applied on the client side, and not to the servers, you'll be able to play with others who have successfully patched their game without patching yourself.

This isn't the first time we've seen SecuROM patched out of an EA game; last year, we saw it removed from Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3. In other instances, we've seen the harsh restrictions SecuROM can impose be lifted (to an extent): Both BioShock and BioShock 2 had their activation limits removed, thanks no doubt to the outcry from gamers who didn't want to be treated so poorly simply because they reinstalled their game more times than 2K decided to allot them.

Indeed, we've seen gamers rebel against companies who have decided to include SecuROM -- which many consider to be nothing more than spyware -- in their titles. Angry gamers slapped EA with a class action lawsuit over its inclusion with Spore and sabotaged the game's Amazon ratings. Responses like that surely played a role in more recent games abandoning SecuROM from the start, Dragon Age: Origins being just one example.

Source: 1up.com
Link: http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3178386