Copyright, Data Protection, and Privacy with Digital Rights Management and Trusted Systems: Negotiating a Compromise between Proprietors and Users
Saif Khan · The Knowledge Bank (The Ohio State University) · 2010
Digital rights management ("DRM") and trusted systems offer the promise of enhanced protection of virtually any form of data, but at the same time jeopardize user rights to this data and user privacy.Finding the right medium that appropriately balances these concerns has proven difficult.This note first explores the role of the current legal framework regulating DRM technologies and trusted systems.The note then discusses how DRM can protect copyright owners' rights.These measures and their associated legal enforcement are part of a battle between proprietary appliance-like systems that are a product of the DRM lockdown, and the commons-based model that dominates the Internet and information networks today.The note next explores how trusted systems can protect personal information, much like how DRM has been used to safeguard creative content.The note then elaborates on how DRM and trusted systems may harm the privacy interests of users performing transactions with these systems.The note ultimately concludes with a discussion on technological implementations and legal reforms that could accommodate both data owners and users.