4 ms·

Care to share this idea? I'm struggling to see how DRM can benefit the little guy.

• stcredzero 14y ago
  The "little guy" has information of "diffuse value." It's analogous to a not-rich person with goods that can be safely kept locked up with your average door lock or in a shed with a chintzy combination lock. Your average door lock and a cheap padlock pose no challenge at all to a locksmith or a determined criminal with bolt cutters. However, they are still useful for individual security, in greater part because they are a part of social and legal conventions than they are as pieces of security technology. There is also the matter of trust varying over time. 18 year old Suzy who's still in high school but wants to be president someday might think Bobby is a prince and be in love with him right now. A year later, she might think he's a selfish jerk. At that time, she might be glad of the ability to revoke the keys to her lingerie pics only viewable on that tablet app, just before she tells him they're breaking up. Security savvy people will respond: Well, Bobby can always jailbreak his tablet, then all bets are off. True, but there is a big difference between malfeasance before the fact (someone setting up an ambush, or breaking trust and goodwill for possible future exploitation) and malfeasance after the fact. Right now, we can't protect against either and the bar is set at the "crime of opportunity" level -- which is to say, just above the level of someone picking up a dropped $20 bill on the sidewalk. Right now Bobby can concoct his revenge after the fact and strike a tremendous blow against Suzy without breaking any criminal statues. Just like with consumer security devices, you don't need bulletproof security to make something of value which works well enough in practice. There is already a market for security just good enough to prevent crimes of opportunity.
  • rmc 14y ago
    Ah interesting. Data Privacy is a very good example of where DRM for the little guy would be beneficial.