Privacy and Digital Rights Management (DRM): An Oxymoron?

Author

Ann Cavoukian

Organization

Information and Privacy Commissioner, Ontario

Published

2002

Summary

Consumer products such as music, movies and books are becoming more widely available in digital format, both in physical form (e.g., on a CD or DVD) and over the Internet (e.g., downloading a movie or song from a Web site). However, as illustrated by the Charley Pride CD case, the use of DRM technologies to protect such digital content may have privacy implications, particularly if they are used in conjunction with Internet tracking tools, such as cookies and web bugs, to collect and store personal information from consumers in order to monitor their behaviour and buying preferences.

The spread of DRM technologies has not gone unchallenged. For example, Stanford University Professor Lawrence Lessig has argued that the most dramatic restrictions on innovation on the Internet have come at the hands of copyright holders, such as large music-production companies. The push to provide these copyright owners with control over their content has also given them the power to stifle innovations that could threaten their existing business models.5

In addition, the Electronic Privacy Information Centre (EPIC), the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), and other privacy advocates have ignited an important public debate by identifying the serious threat that DRM technologies pose to the privacy, fair use and free expression rights of consumers.6

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to this debate by focusing exclusively on the privacy implications of DRM. First, we will examine DRM in greater detail and outline some of the factors that gave rise to such technologies. Second, the impact of DRM on the privacy rights of consumers will be discussed. Third, we will put forward some proposals for embedding privacy into DRM technologies, including seven essential steps that DRM technology developers should consider to ensure that they are respecting the privacy rights of consumers. Finally, we will put forward some straightforward privacy tips for consumers who are planning to purchase or have purchased digital products protected by DRM technologies.

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Source: Consumer Policy Research Database