What does digital rights management (DRM) mean and how is it related to social media?
DRM or digital rights management refers to the types of technologies embedded in present-day software (i.e. programs, eBooks, etc.) which is meant to limit their distribution via either hardcopy or through social media. This has been implemented due to billions of dollars in revenue companies have lost as a result of software piracy resulting in the need to implement some means of digital distribution prevention. One of the current problems in the application of DRM in online cases of IPR infringement is the level of anonymity granted by the internet which not only makes methods of prosecution against violators difficult but also encourages criminal behavior. As seen in the study of Hinduja & Ingram (2009) which attempted to explain the reason behind the popularity of online IPR infringement, it was seen through numerous interviews and accounts that anonymity played a huge role in encouraging the behavior.
As Hinduja & Ingram (2009) note, social identity plays a huge role in limiting criminal or anti-social behavior yet when the concept of social identity and thus accountability is taken away people are more likely to commit acts related to IPR infringement as they otherwise would have done if there was a distinct level of identity and accountability related to their online presence (Hinduja & Ingram, 2009). In other words, the Hinduja & Ingram (2009) study showed that people were more likely to commit acts of online copyright infringement and the promotion of online piracy since they knew that the level of anonymity afforded to them by the internet allowed them to act without negative consequences.
This in turn explains the depth and proliferation of online piracy and copyright infringement and shows how the problem cannot be so easily resolved merely by applying laws which state that a particular action is illegal. In the case of online social media, the various forums, private chat software, and other forms of online communication in effect allow users to send links to illegally ripped original content. Not only that, various social medial platforms allow users to post or share content anonymously thus resulting in a greater predilection towards such behavior. Social media has in effect greatly contributed to the process of digital rights violation which necessitated the implementation of greater levels of DRM in the form of consistent online notifications, a limited number of installations for particular types of software as well as preventive methods of software tampering.
Another way of looking at this concept is to look at it from a prosecutor’s point of view. While there are many instances where users download illegal IPR content there is no way to prosecute them for the act since there is no way of knowing who they are. Not only that, services such as Piratebay and Torrent technologies enable users to anonymously upload content and distribute it to millions of other social media users which further complicates the problem. The sheer number of users and the amount of available online services that allow illegal IPR violations to continue show just how impotent companies are at the present in actually resolving this issue which shows cases why DRM implementation has been increasing.
Why are copyright infringement laws important to the web?
Copyrights are defined as “laws which give the creator of a certain work exclusive rights towards sale, distribution or development over a predetermined period”. This can encompass various literary works, artistic works, and even film or music. What copyright does is that it in effect allows the creator of a particular piece of work the right to profit over what he/she created. Without sufficient copyright protections in place artists, writers and moviemakers would be unwilling to create any new work since they would not be able to profit from it in the long term due to alternative channels of sales and distribution that other individuals or groups would utilize to distribute the created work themselves for free. Ever since the implementation of the Web 2.0 which transitioned websites from the static domain of the solitary programmer to the dynamic world of the normal user the creation of websites through the use of numerous types of online and offline websites making software has made copyright infringement to be a norm rather than a rarity. Thousands of websites utilize “borrowed” content from other sites in the form of pictures, banners, and even written information. Not only that, online services such as Photobucket allow users to store copied copyright content from other websites to utilize on their sites and blogs.
Sites such as Piratebay.org contain millions of music, video, and software files that were “ripped” illegally from legal sources and then subsequently shared online for free. This has resulted in significant losses in sales for hundreds of companies with estimates placing the amount lost in the hundreds of billions of dollars within a given year. On the other end of the spectrum, billions of intellectual property right infringements are also done on a single day by the sheer amount of videos and images shared on social network sites such as YouTube and Facebook. Users arbitrarily share images taken from official websites and magazines as well as post videos online containing copyrighted songs, labels, symbols, and images resulting in practically millions of people being guilty of intellectual property right infringement. Yet for the past 12 years, companies have been unable to successfully combat this problem due to its sheer scale and the inherent limits of business law in actually being able to address the issue.
Reference List
Hinduja, S., & Ingram, J. R. (2009). Social learning theory and music piracy: the differential role of online and offline peer influences. Criminal Justice Studies, 22(4), 405-420.