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Because the browser is an open stack. There are many layers interacting from the network protocols up to the rendering and scripting engines, and they are all o
by Udo 14y ago
Because the browser is an open stack. There are many layers interacting from the network protocols up to the rendering and scripting engines, and they are all open. The implementations are generally open, but more importantly it's possible to look into the data itself. You can see why this is a problem for DRM. To "properly" lock it down, you'd have to close the entire stack, and then you'd have to outlaw open source implementations. The whole thing is just not designed to disobey the user. Keep in mind that this would have to cover the entire chain, from the network connection all the way up to the screen you are allowed to play the content on.
For that kind of DRM to work, your browser would have to be turned into a black box that is difficult to inspect, designed to be controlled entirely from remote, and illegal to alter.
If this series of events were to unfold, closing the browser would not be done to benefit the content industry directly. They don't need that to deliver content, because they can always just put out an app and pump out their stuff that way. They can also just make a plugin if they want to deliver video content through the browser - which would possible with current technology today. That's not why they are proposing this. Instead this move would serve solely to restrict user freedom to use anything but approved apps for approved content.
So to make it clear why this outrage exists: there is absolutely no technical need to include this natively in HTML5. The proposal does not aim to give something to the content industry, it is instead designed to take something away from everybody else. That's not a subtle difference. But, as I said earlier, it's doubtful it will/could play out this way. The only way to achieve this "dream" is by making the web as it exists today illegal to use, and then enforce that ban through extensive ISP surveillance. In which case a DRM solution for HTML5 wouldn't matter anyway.
- PavlovsCat 14y agoTo "properly" lock it down, you'd have to close the entire stack, and then you'd have to outlaw open source implementations. ORLY? How does encryption work then? One could say "in order to properly encrypt your stuff, you actually need to make sure nobody is outside your window with binoculars", but that's not the job of encryption is it. I guess it would ultimately boil down to possession of private and public keys, and making it illegal to transmit those. So? As you said, they can deliver their stuff in proprietary apps already, what is lost when they use proprietary keys instead?
- Udo 14y agoYes, really. Encryption in the browser today works exactly the other way around. It's sole purpose is to ensure data integrity on my behalf as things are transmitted between me and my chosen endpoint. The endpoint is not protected from me, and I can do whatever I want with this data once it arrives in my browser. DRM would be the antithesis of that. The problem is not they keys, it's what they keys can control or not.
- PavlovsCat 14y agoThat you'd need a closed source browser or plugin to access the draconian DRM content that insists on protecting the render path wouldn't mean anyone would have to consume said DRM content, or use such a browser for anything else. As you said, they could as well "put out an app", they already do; and adding a "content protection provider", a black box ultimately, to a browser just turns that browser into that app. But, and that's kind of my point, it doesn't affect my browser in any way I can discern, at worst it would mean somtimes seeing "sorry, your browser (or lack of plugins/dongle/whatever) does not support playback of this content", as opposed to that page not being there in the first place.
- jshen 14y agoThey aren't trying to "properly" lock it down. They are trying to bring html5 up to the same level as current flash based solutions.
- xj9 14y agoI'm pretty sure you can do that already. HTTP has authentication, HTTPS gives you content encryption, rate limiting can prevent content scraping, I mean if you really wanted to you could do something with canvas (the hardware acceleration stuff that's being worked on could even make it perform fairly well, I suppose). Its not the same way but it could give the same result.
- jshen 14y agoYou can't do it already. What you described is not the same level as current flash solutions.