Ross's TCPA paper

[Mike Rosing]

On 27 Jun 2002, David Wagner wrote:

> No, it's not.  Read Ross Anderson's article again.  Your analysis misses
> part of the point.  Here's an example of a more problematic vision:
> you can buy Microsoft Office for $500 and be able to view MS Office
> documents; or you can refrain from buying it and you won't be able to
> view MS Office documents.  Do you see why this is problematic?  It lets
> one vendor lock the world into a monopoly; noone else will be able to
> develop compatible MS Word viewers without the consent of Microsoft.
> (StarOffice on Linux won't work, because to get the session key to
> decrypt the Word document your viewer has to go online to microsoft.com
> and ask for it, but microsoft.com won't give you the key unless you've
> bought a "secure" "trusted" OS and purchased Microsoft Office for $500.)
> Now notice that the same idea can be used to inhibit competition in
> just about any computer market, and I hope you appreciate Ross's point.
> TCPA/DRM has the potential for anti-competitive effects, and the result
> may well be worse off than we are today.

As long as MS Office isn't mandated by law, who cares?  So what: somebody
sends me a file.  I tell them I can't read it.  Now, they have a choice,
they can give me MS Office or they can send me ascii.  The market will
determine if "secure" OS's are useful.

DRM isn't the problem.  Legislating DRM is the problem.  You can go buy
IBM portables with secure key chips built in right now to help protect
your box and your business data.  That's TCPA.  Nothing wrong with it,
it's a good idea.

It doesn't become wrong until it becomes forced down our throats.  That's
where S.2048 becomes something to worry about, it forces us to use
hardware we don't need (or may not need for our purposes).  TCPA and DRM
are not the problem here, and privacy and copyright are side issues too.
There is no need for the law to intervene, the market will decide how all
this stuff can be used efficiently and effectively.

And that's what the entertainment industry needs to figure out and fast
too.  The law is slow.  Technology is fast.

Patience, persistence, truth,
Dr. mike