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W3C abandons consensus, standardizes DRM, EFF resigns

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Re: W3C abandons consensus, standardizes DRM, EFF resigns

#131
post #103
post #82

DRM can't work in theory, but it is working in practice. If someone writes a piece of software that allows downloading of DRM-ed content (without losing quality, and playable anytime) from the big names (Netflix, Amazon, etc), then this battle would be won.

Not by a long shot. Where would you put this solution once you found it? Github? Npm? Of course corporations will sue these organizations out of existence for hosting a DRM work around, so they won't be able to host it. So at the end unless you can find some cool Russian hosting (a la sci-hub) you are straight out of luck. The real problem is not creating a solution, but finding somewhere to put it that people can ac…

> Where would you put this solution once you found it? Github? Npm?

BitTorrent?

Re: W3C abandons consensus, standardizes DRM, EFF resigns

#132
post #103
post #82

DRM can't work in theory, but it is working in practice. If someone writes a piece of software that allows downloading of DRM-ed content (without losing quality, and playable anytime) from the big names (Netflix, Amazon, etc), then this battle would be won.

Not by a long shot. Where would you put this solution once you found it? Github? Npm? Of course corporations will sue these organizations out of existence for hosting a DRM work around, so they won't be able to host it. So at the end unless you can find some cool Russian hosting (a la sci-hub) you are straight out of luck. The real problem is not creating a solution, but finding somewhere to put it that people can ac…

Host it on the blockchain :)

Re: W3C abandons consensus, standardizes DRM, EFF resigns

#133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can't really expect companies like Google, Microsoft, or Apple to take up that mantle -- why would they, when it's not in their interests? If you actually want to fix the problem you probably need to hit the regulatory levers.

How is it not in their interests?

They're likely to just lose users to people jumping ship to browsers that let them watch Netflix and they're all involved in distributing DRM-encumbered content themselves.

Re: W3C abandons consensus, standardizes DRM, EFF resigns

#134

The saddest part of this story is that Netflix/Amazon/younameit will continue to ignore and block Linux users as the niche market they are -- even if a future Firefox or Chrome version comes with the new standardized DRM everyone asked for. Lose/lose situation.

Why would they do that? Are you assuming these companies will want to block Linux users out of some random, malicious spite?

No. For simple economic reasons, such as too much testing effort vs. too little revenue.

Re: W3C abandons consensus, standardizes DRM, EFF resigns

#135

Now is the time to make it possible for individuals to use DRM when they publish videos online. How often do media companies show peoples stuff on TV and such without permission? Of course youtube ToS allow that, but this should all be changed ASAP. When large amounts of content actually come from individuals, it's the individuals rights that need to be protected. When will we see DRM for the masses?

It won't be for the masses. For a physical-media model, look at SACD. You can't burn your own SACD recordings, even if you have a DSD-capable recorder; the players will only play signed discs, and the signing keys are only available to pressing plants.

Re: W3C abandons consensus, standardizes DRM, EFF resigns

#136
post #97

Tim Berners-Lee must be rolling in his grave.

Tim Berners-Lee isn't dead. And if you read the article, you'll see that he was actually the one who originally overrode the EFF's objections to publishing a DRM standard in the first place.

Re: W3C abandons consensus, standardizes DRM, EFF resigns

#137
post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> We're losing the internet day by day, if we haven't done so already. Let's just "fork" the web from W3C (or 3WC as some people like to call them by now) instead.

No, the W3C is the web. You'd be forking to what? This was basically wanted by Firefox, Apple, Microsoft and Google. They are the modern web. Trying to go against them is how we ended up with XHTML, a standard no-one really wanted, or implemented.

The W3C has pretty much zero power to prescribe what happens on the web.

Look at the history of their standards, and the direction that the web has actually gone.

The power for where the web goes is in the hands of web developers and browser developers. The W3C documents some things, but they are not a major player.

Re: W3C abandons consensus, standardizes DRM, EFF resigns

#138

I'm a bit uneducated when it comes to the cryptography involved, but I'm wondering why people here are so determined DRM can't ever work? Is it because someone will somehow get a copy and upload to torrents/streaming sites which of course won't have DRM. Thus only potentially annoying legitimate (eg. Netflix) users? Or are there other concerns?

Cryptogtaphically speaking, what is DRM. We want to give an untrusted user access to content, so that they can see it, without giving them access to the content, so they cannot copy it. This is simply impossible in theory. In practice, we can make copying it difficult, possibly resorting to hardware support (so decryption happens in the monitor) and rely on the DMCA to make any attempts to break DRM illegal. Of cours…

I know content creators. There is a large group that hate their content being copied. That's not going to change.

Re: W3C abandons consensus, standardizes DRM, EFF resigns

#139

Shame, shame, shame. We're losing the internet day by day, if we haven't done so already. I've seen people and posts here and there calling for attention on these issues, but imho it's all too subtle. We should start using harsher terminology for what's actually happening. This is flat out CORRUPTION, and I'm not seeing anyone express it as such. It's probably too late already, and unfortunately, this is merely a ref…

How come we don't know WHO sold us out for that beach house?

Tim Berners-Lee, for one.

Re: W3C abandons consensus, standardizes DRM, EFF resigns

#140
post #103
post #82

DRM can't work in theory, but it is working in practice. If someone writes a piece of software that allows downloading of DRM-ed content (without losing quality, and playable anytime) from the big names (Netflix, Amazon, etc), then this battle would be won.

Not by a long shot. Where would you put this solution once you found it? Github? Npm? Of course corporations will sue these organizations out of existence for hosting a DRM work around, so they won't be able to host it. So at the end unless you can find some cool Russian hosting (a la sci-hub) you are straight out of luck. The real problem is not creating a solution, but finding somewhere to put it that people can ac…

Although many don't use it (yet, still, and maybe never will), the "place to put it" problem is already solved, isn't it? Worst case, put it in a "dark" corner of the web :)
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