Re: "Enclosed shops" Re: HTML5 and DRM - A Middle Path?

Mark Watson:
>> Would Netflix inform the public or shut down its operations when it
>> receives a secret order to participate in surveillance by using a
>> backdoor contained in a CDM which is already installed on a users
>> computer? (After the shutdown of lavabit.com this unfortunately is
>> not a rhetorical question.)
>>
>
> That question is somewhat above my pay grade,

You could ask someone who can answer the question. A positive reply
would definitely be widely acknowledged.

> but my point is that it is no more likely that a browser-integrated
> CDM contains such a back door than that the browser itself contains
> the same thing.

That seems to be true for proprietary browsers (and is a good reason not
to use them), but it is not true for Open Source browsers because it is
possible to verify that binaries and source code are related.

> And equally, it is no more likely that an OS-integrated CDM contains
> such a back door than the OS itself contains it.

For the same reasons as given above this is not true for Open Source
operating systems.

> So, EME and DRM are completely irrelevant to your
> concerns.

As we have already discussed for several months now (and we seem to
agree) it is unlikely that the most relevant CDMs will be made available
as Open Source. EME and DRM therefore are more relevant for my concerns
than virtually all other components of an operating system. EME is the
only specification discussed within the W3C which has such issues.

And to repeat: I am not aware of *any* operating system or *any* browser
explicitly claiming to enable "silent monitoring". That is a feature DRM
only shares with (other) spyware.

Cheers,
Andreas

Received on Friday, 16 August 2013 17:40:34 UTC