DRM and the HTML5 Standard

The Encrypted Media Extensions (EME) framework was drafted last year by the W3C as a means of building DRM into the HTML standard rather than through proprietary plug-ins.  Earlier this month, Adobe announced its video DRM technology at the IBC 2014 conference. It is now active in Firefox despite the non-profit's anti-DRM stance as a way to show that they are willing to comply to the changing standard. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Free Software Foundation (FSF, and various other civil liberties groups see the dawn of web DRM as being the beginning of the end of the free internet as we know it. The EFF stated that adding EME to the web runs against the philosophy that "the Web needs to be a universal ecosystem that is based on open standards and fully implementable on equal terms by anyone, anywhere, without permission or negotiation".  The EME allows content providers to only allow certain types of traffic access their content, requiring certain operating systems, hardware, or third-party software, effectively undermining the Web's current compatibility.  The FSF claimed that web DRM is "defective by design" such that it may impede fair and legal use of media.

The EME is already causing content providers to abandon the web for other means, such as apps.  Another major flaw will be the major exclusion of people who use of incompatible browsers, which in some cases will render older machines useless.  Different browsers use different decryption modules as the EME standard is not being followed the same way by every browser.  This is adding a higher level of incompatibility and adding more work for the content developer to make sure that their content will reach audiences of every browser.  Adobe is now working with hardware manufacturers Intel, AMD, and Broadcom to add its DRM to the hardware itself which is far more difficult to be cracked (plugin DRM has a history of being cracked within hours of its release). This hardware level DRM is dangerous as it may restrict users activities offline or require internet access. 

This new iteration of the HTML5 standard has been heavily lobbied by the entertainment industry, with little regard for the future of the web. The broad standard of the EME, which outlines a javascript api to communicate to each browser's own encryption/decryption modules is far too detached to continue the movement towards a cross-browser seamless experience.  Opponents to the EME are looking for compromise as many media providers have threatened to leave the web if they do not have more effective DRM. The EFF have argued that the overly broad powers that the EME provides need to be clearly defined so that the web is not fragmented.  Microsoft Silverlight and Flash (two major DRM in the current day) have begun dying and it is apparent that it will be soon that these next gen DRM systems are in play.

Imagine a world where you cannot "save as" an image,only privileges users can view webpage source code, and saved files are monitored beyond the browser.  The idea that users should be in charge of user agents is going to change if this DRM is put into place and HollyWeb becomes the new norm.  This restrictive environment goes against everything the open web stands for and will limit future growth.  Standards that govern large groups of people, such as those who use the internet should be written with their interests in mind.


http://www.cnet.com/news/boosting-browsers-adobe-extends-its-drm-to-web-video/

http://arstechnica.com/business/2013/05/drm-in-html5-is-a-victory-for-the-open-web-not-a-defeat/

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/10/lowering-your-standards