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Can P2P Filter Copyrighted Content?
scubacuda writes "DRMwatch reports that technologists acting on behalf of porn publisher Titan Media reported to Congress that P2P networks could (if they wanted to) use "fingerprinting" (aka "hashing") to detect copyrighted works and then filter them with the "spyware" installed on all nodes in the network."
Did common sense go on holidays?
Load a fingerprinted file.
Change one bit.
It has a new fingerprint.
The eDonkey/eMule network already identify files by an MD4 hash to ensure you get what you ask for. For instance: if a file has many sources then that means they have the same hash, you can be quite sure that it isn't a bogus loop of a pr0n flick when you really wanted that latest DVD rip.
If this goes through you'll see a new kazaa-compatible P2P client appear that pops a few random bytes into the ID3 tag of an MP3, the comment section of a JPG or in the headers of a video file. Each one will then have a new hash. Oops.
Oh, the new KazaaDRM(tm) ignores comments & tags and only looks at the actual data? OK, the new client toggles a bit that won't cause any visual or audio degradation of the file. Oops.
That all said if 100 people rip an MP3 or DivX file they won't generate the same byte-identical file. This is doomed to fail at the expense of your computer's CPU cycles as it generates these useless hashes.
Trolling is a art,
The courts decided that it wasn't enough to remove works known to be copyrighted: rather they must know that works were not copyrighted.
For every man hour of time that's put into 'protecting' their work, there's a thousand man-hour's worth of effort that will freely be contributed from the "public" to try and break it. All encryption like this can and will be broken over time, the only way to beat it seems to be for the companies to try and repeatedly adapt and stay one step ahead. Unfortunately that's very expensive and can't be maintained for long. Regardless of your stance on the argument of p2p, this is the way it looks like continuing for the near future.
Wow, so now all the Divx rippers will have to chop a few frames off of each divx they rip so each hash is different. Companies should really stop worrying about what their customers do with the materials they have purchased and figure out a way to actually encourage them to purchase said materials in the first place. And no, I'm not just talking about pr0n, but CD's and DVD's in general. If it's a quality movie or CD I'll buy it because I know I'll want to watch it over and over and add to my 'collection.' I've spent more on Peter Jackson's works in the past two years than I have on any other media combined. (at least that I own... not counting all the Blockbuster rentals)
I mean seriously, how much money is Blockbuster making right now renting movies (some of which get ripped by the Divx kiddies 'cause they have way too much time on their hands) while the music industry bemoans their inability to sell records like they did in the late 90's?
... at least in the music genre.
I used to work for a small company called Relatable (http://relatable.com/), which was working with Napster back in the day to identify the music being traded over the network.
Relatable's technology recognizes music by the acoustic properties of the audio itself regardless of how it was recorded, encoded, etc.
Obviously there are still ways around this, but it is a fairly solid solution.
It is important to recognize that "fingerprinting" does not equal "hashing". We all know that hashing will *not* work. But there are other techniques, at least for audio, that can work.
Josh
There are two fallacies with the proposal:
Spyware on the nodes? Even if you could somehow ensure that all compatible clients comply with the spying requirements, how long will those clients be left unmolested? Any P2P "server" is really just a client of many other "servers."
This depends on a mathematical hash performed on a given rendering of a copyrighted sample. Resample and the hash is broken. Hell, even a second-rate email spammer knows how to avoid hash detection: just tweak an unused ID3 field.
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Guys like this make me jealous! If I look at porn, it's just me and a picture--big deal--it's forgotten in a moment.
But Xsters--wow. It's me, a picture, satan and and a crowd of slathering demons, and god hisself, heavenly nostrils flared in anger, while a chorus fiery-sword-wielding seraphs chorus 'for shame, for shame.'
I just don't get that kind of mileage out of it.
This may be offtopic, but anyway. The original words are by Pastor Niemoller (1938)
First they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out ?
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the communists
And I did not speak out ?
Because I was not a communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out ?
Because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me ?
And there was no-one left
To speak out for me.
P.S. It is an important reminder to stand for the rights of others, to stand for the rights of terrorists, murderers, child pornografers, P2P programmers, christian fundamentalists, and for the rights of everyone else. We may disagree with people, but only in a free and tolerant society can we expect to be safe ourselves.
Future Wiki -- If you don't think about the future, you cannot have one.