ian kerr
image of ian kerr

C O N T A C T

Dr. Ian Kerr holds the University of Ottawa LogoCanada Research Chair in Ethics, Law and Technology at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law. He also holds cross- appointments to the Faculty of Medicine and the Department of Philosophy.

e-mail icon iankerr(at)uottawa(dot)ca

 telephone icon telephone:
  613-562-5800 ext. 3281

 fax icon fax:
  613-562-5124

 mail box icon post:
  57 Louis Pasteur St.
  P.O. Box 450, Stn.A
  Ottawa, Ontario
  K1N 6N5


K E R R P O D

kerrpod launch icon
LAUNCH [help]

I D  T R A I L

ID Trail ThumbOn the Identity Trail
understanding the importance and impact of anonymity and authentication in a networked society

M Y  P O D C A S T S

PodcastSubscribe with RSS
PodcastSubscribe with iTunes

L O G I N

S E A R C H


If Left to Their Own Devices... PDF Print E-mail

This chapter examines the anti-circumvention laws set out in Bill C-60 (Canada’s first legislative attempt in response to the 1996 WIPO treaties), provisions that aim to protect the copyright industries from individuals using devices to circumvent technological protection measures (TPMs) and digital rights management systems (DRM). I argue that the proposed anti-circumvention laws fail to address any aspects of the privacy implications of DRM, despite the obvious privacy threats that automation, cryptographic techniques, and other DRM technologies impose. I start by distinguishing between TPMs and DRMs. Then I examine how these technologies are used to enforce corporate copyright policies and express copyright permissions imposed by a DRM through a registration process that requires purchasers to hand over personal information. After illustrating DRM’s extraordinary surveillance capabilities, I suggest that such privacy considerations are especially important in light of legislative reforms that use the law to further enable DRM and facilitate its implementation as a primary means of enforcing digital copyright. I investigate three public policy considerations in determining an “appropriate balance” for DRM and privacy: (i) the anonymity principle; (ii) individual access; and (iii) DRM licenses. These lead me to offer three recommendations that would provide counter-measures necessary to offset the new powers and protections afforded to TPM and DRM if anti-circumvention laws are implemented.

A preprint of this chapter is available for download pdf here 394.44 Kb ©  2005.

 

CITE AS:

  "If Left to Their Own Devices…How DRM and Anti-Circumvention Laws Can Be Used to Hack Privacy” in Michael Geist, ed. In the Public Interest: The Future of Canadian Copyright Law (Toronto: Irwin Law, 2005)

 

 
< Prev   Next >
Creative Commons License
Except where otherwise noted, this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License.