Issues in contemporary media education

Write an essay on Protection of online media is an important aspect of online entertainment management, especially the use of DRM (Digital Rights Management).

Means of communication have always been integral part of human life, and it would be difficult to imagine world without any communication channel. Starting with the verbal transmission, transcending through written, the new age media depends on the digital transmission for distribution of data and information worldwide. Digitization has simplified the task of creation and dissemination of media to a great extent. However, at the same time, it has also created problems of piracy, copying and unauthorized access to material jeopardizing the livelihood of millions of artists worldwide.

Popularized by Gutenberg’s press, copying in the digital age is a matter of seconds and has proven to be a great nuisance to content owners and creators wishing to keep their content exclusive. To tackle such issues of content and creator’s rights protection, WIPO provides guidelines through the framing of Technological Protection Measures (TPMs) and Rights Management Information (RMIs). These measures aim to stop the infringement of copyrights and give content owners complete control over their content. Apart from saving the livelihood of content owners directly, copyright protection measures also help e-businesses to maintain and increase their user base. The amount of trust in a website makes up the extent of customer loyalty towards it (Nissenbaum 2004).

Different methods of communication have been used by humans since long time. They act as a medium of transferring, transacting and storing information. Whether it be songs, TV shows, radio transmissions, they all have helped society get informed and entertained for a long time. Earlier entertainment used to be in the form of bards, minstrels, plays, etc. forms which were limited in accessibility and reach. But, with the advent of technology, the method of delivering media to the mass audience has changed significantly. From its earlier stages of being a localized source of entertainment, media industry has long since grown into a full-fledged industry warranting professional analysis to determine what constitutes profits, what is and isn’t legally viable, what is the latest technology available to cash out the maximum profit (ed. Alexander et al. 2003).

Contemporary media education involves the study of issues involving freedom of speech, new communication technology and media content’s effect on society, easy access to social media (ed. Alexander et al. 2003).

As the worldwide access to the internet is increasing, more and more people are getting connected, processes are getting completed online, and use of social media as a tool of communication is constantly on the rise. The acceptability of these media products is the function of different media organizations’ acceptance and commercialization of them leading to their adoption and diffusion in the society (Albarran et al. 2006). An ever increasing number of media firms are trying to increase their global reach and trying to figure out how to utilize the full potential of new digital media environment (Doyle 2002; Herman & McChesney 1997).

The need for controlled and secure content

In such a scenario, it becomes vital for both organizations and individuals to have access to controlled and secure content. For organizations, it is the protection for their revenue source while for individual users, access to electronically safe content means their privacy and independence is intact so that they can pursue their choices in a threat-free environment. Individual artists also require this security to ensure that the means of livelihood is accessible to him. One such example is a recent case in India where a movie was leaked online days before its release leaving the Bollywood in furore and the movie’s stakeholders got concerned about their prospective earnings.

A typical computer being an assortment of hardware and software such as the motherboard, sound card, graphic card, etc., these things are in constant communication with each other, both internally and externally (Sims 2003). This to and fro of messages within and outside  expose the whole system as well as the content stored therein to unrestricted access, necessitating the existence of systems to protect the data. Data Encryption plays an important role here. these systems allow the content creator and owner to distribute his content in a controlled manner to only authorized users and protect it from unauthorized ones.

The problem mushrooms up in earnest once one security key assigned to an individual is made public so that now the program can be accessed by anyone eroding the chances of the content owner from profiting from a unique piece of work. Use of media devices such as portable digital music players, video recorders, etc. makes the distribution of such digital media content much easier, thus generating concerns about their protection. Their inherent complexity along with the daily introduced changes and upgrades in popular digital media such as video games make it quite difficult to protect them.

This is where the concept of copyright comes into picture. According to WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization), a copyright gives a creator legal rights over their literary and artistic creation (WIPO n.d.). Books, movies, paintings, sculptures, computer programs, databases, technical drawings, maps, etc. all are protected by copyrights only. The process of copying, mechanized by Gutenberg’s press brought in the concept of copyright since making copies now was not an arduous task requiring days’ worth of labor. Digitization took this ease of copying a step forward and made it instantaneous and viral thus rendering the existing copyrighting laws obsolete. Copyright infringement laws are commonplace nowadays and are seen in newspapers on a daily basis.

The importance of copyright protection

Not only copying, digitization has also helped in a lot many other ways to make digital content be mass accessible. The age old, time consuming, laborious tasks of writing, recording, maintaining, proofing, copy editing, etc. have now been compacted into a simpler version where content needs be just created and can directly be released online (‘The Future’ 2011).

Without safe access to online media and entertainment, media industry would definitely collapse. Not only the content creators will shun it due to the reduced earnings and unappreciated efforts, but also the users who in the wake of no privacy and numerous threats, would much rather prefer no access rather than maligned access. This report discusses the concept of threat of copyright infringements in the context of media and entertainment industry and concurs that online media protection and DRMs are an important part of online media management.

As the universal access to the online content increases, the possibility of its misuse increases proportionally. Increasing banking transactions being done online, saving of passwords and keys in web based software, storing confidential information online, all generate high risks of an electronic attack. Though digital copying of authentic traditional works of art such as sculptures and fine arts remain a challenge, not many of the other online available media like music, videos, games, etc. are safe from digital reproduction and transmission. The hackers have always been able to come up with new and innovative ways to extract information not meant for their eyes or to siphon off money not earned by them. For e.g., Canadian hacker Michael Calce’s hacking of various media sites such as CNN, Yahoo, Amazon and eBay in 2000 is said to have cost these companies several millions of dollars’ worth of capital just because a 15 years old was able to break into their cyberspace (Staff 2014). Universal access to media content depends on how conveniently the information service providers can recover their investments while staying within the confines of contemporary laws. And now, beyond the neo-traditional methods of mass communication, social media has become the new center stage for all things media and marketing (Kaplan & Haenlein 2010; Montalvo 2011).

To protect online content from threats of unauthorized access, even patented software, techniques and methodologies exist. For e.g., J Robert Sims, III of Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P., in 1998 developed a method of protecting the transfer of content over unsecured channels. Storage and transmission of bulk media over the internet is facilitated using cryptographic keys, both public and private. For his invention, Sims was granted a patent in 1999 by US PTO (Sims 2003).

The challenges of digitization and online media

WIPO is the international body responsible for maintaining and enforcing intellectual property rights, policy, information and services related to IP. Established in 1967, WIPO has been source of observation of IP practices worldwide by its signatory nations. Though not all countries subscribe to it, those who do are expected to maintain the highest standards of IPR.

According to Riaan J. Rudman (2014), Web 2.0 has been one of the major changes that have occurred in this decades old behemoth we call internet or world wide web. Web 2.0 has been one of the reasons for promoting sharing and collaboration. Though making lives easier, this also increases the cybersecurity threat to the next level. According to him, the higher the trust shown by a user towards a website, the higher would be his loyalty towards that site. In the ever transient business of internet, having customer loyalty is one of the few things that stops companies especially e-businesses, from going to the brink of bankruptcy and ultimate oblivion of shutdown.

We 2.0’s existence is enriched by the number of users engaged with it at any given moment. The higher the number of users, the larger the content generated by them and better the user experience with Web 2.0. As Karlgaard (2005) said, Social media platforms such as Facebook and YouTube thrive on the number of active users they have. The more, the merrier. However, this merriment can easily be turned to misery by inappropriate use of these platforms. The leak of private photographs, videos not meant for the public eye creates a lot of nuisance for celebrities and VIPs each year worldwide. While such releases are a matter of great public attention, they inconvenience the victim a lot. Hence, cybersecurity has been a prime concern to the masters and controllers of the internet from the start.

Digital rights management (DRM) programs aim to restrict the access to digital content protected by copyright as well as the hardware used to enforce these policies. The usual arguments given in favour and against any Intellectual Property right (IPR) law are applicable in the case of DRMs also. Stifling of innovation, curtailing of rights, the creation of monopolies are all alleged cons of DRM while continued revenue generation and control over work are some of the arguments in favor of DRM (Sensarkar 2007 Calvert 2013).

Digital Rights Management, though used in professional jargon, are not mentioned in the formal literature of WIPO Copyright Treaty and WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT). These are the software meant to stop digital files from being copied without authorization. The formal treaties give DRM the names of Technological Protection Measures (TPMs) and Rights Management Information (RMIs) to address the concept of cybersecurity of copyrighted work (Ficsor 2010). TPMs are the technical measures such as encryption keys, etc. used by authors and other rights holders to restrict the piracy, copying, and transmission of their valuable work (IFPI 2003a). The basis for new licensing systems, RMIs the integrity and authenticity of the work, performance and phonogram in question. They act as powerful tools against copyright infringement (IFPI 2003b).

Discussion

However, even DRMs are not fool proof and oft times are susceptible to the hacking techniques of internet pirates, legitimate researchers and those believing in universal access to everything.

Often common public is indifferent to the restrictions to access content which does not directly interfere with their functioning. However, the inconvenience caused is highly protested whenever these restrictions interfere with normal life of the same people. For e.g., in a study by Marc Fetscherin (2006), it was found that in the case of music and its piracy, a restriction to the playability of the content will be a source of disagreement amongst the users while a restriction to burn or copy such content would not be that big a deal.

Conclusion

At times, the most basic and the best sort of protection an artistic work of digital origin can have is self-policing. The honor based system through which media and many other such industries have thrived till now plays an equally important role here also. Though encrypted, a file once given access to a person cannot be expected not to be accessible to his friends and relatives also. After all, helping out each other is one of the cornerstones of our society. In such cases, the ethical standards followed by a person need to be above the friendship for him to consider digital media protection.

Though the presence or absence of DRMs might be a thing of no concern to users at times, for authors and media content creators, the presence of such measures ensures that their rights are maintained and are available to them. Most of the human history has been passed down through the works of art of such artists, writers, and creators only. Had there been 50 Mona Lisas in the world, no one would have appreciated the marvel of Da Vinci’s work. Had there been exact replicas of Sistine Chapel’s roof, the works of Michelangelo would not be world famous today. Shakespeare would have died unknown and unappreciated had due credit not been given to him for his work. All these examples show that as important as free access to fine works of art is, it is equally important that these works are duly recognized and their copyrights are maintained. 

References

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Alexander, A, Owers, JE, Carveth, R, Hollifield, CA & Greco, AN (eds.) 2003, Media economics: Theory and practice, Routledge.

Calvert, P 2013, Digital Rights Management and Content Development, Online Information Review.

Doyle, G 2002, Media ownership: The economics and politics of convergence and concentration in the UK and European media, Sage.

Herman, ES & McChesney, RW 1997, Global Media: The Missionaries of Global Capitalism, Cassel, London.

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Ficsor, M 2010, Digital Rights Management (DRM) and its co-existence with copyright exceptions, presentation during Sub-regional Seminar on the Protection of Computer Software and Databases

IFPI 2003a, The WIPO Treaties: Technological Measures, viewed on 24 Jun. 2016, https://www.ifpi.org/content/library/wipo-treaties-technical-measures.pdf

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Nissenbaum, H 2004, ‘Will security enhance trust online, or supplant it?’, in R Kramer & K Cook (ed.), Trust and Distrust Within Organizations: Emerging Perspectives, Enduring Questions, Russell Sage Publication, pp.155-188.

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