W3C adopts controversial DRM specification

The World Wide Web Consortium, or W3C, recently announced its intention to elevate the so-called eme specification to the web standard. This extension of the HTML standard makes it possible to display DRM-protected content in the browser.

The W3C announced its decision last week. Project leader Philippe Le Hégaret writes on behalf of W3C director Tim Berners-Lee that the specification should be given the status of ‘W3C Recommendation’. Such a recommendation is the outcome of the definition of a new web standard and, according to the organization, is equivalent to it. In the announcement, the W3C itself already indicates that it is a controversial decision.

For example, critics have argued that there is not enough protection for users, that the specification is difficult to support in free software and that there are negative consequences for people with disabilities. The American civil rights organization EFF said in a critical response that the specification was approved without hearing the objections and despite an “unparalleled internal controversy among W3C members and employees”.

The organization, which describes the specification as a ‘standardized method for giving video platforms control over users’ browsers via DRM’, writes that attempts have been made in the past to reach agreements. According to the EFF, the problem is that it is illegal to circumvent DRM, which is reflected in the US DMCA law and international equivalents. However, this can also be circumvented for legal reasons, for example to investigate whether the system works properly or whether it is safe, or to provide access to people with disabilities.

The EFF therefore wanted to make a covenant agreement that W3C members would only prosecute people who circumvent DRM to infringe copyrights. However, these agreements have been rejected. The organization says it is “stunned” that the W3C has decided to ignore the objections. There is an option to appeal. The EFF says it wants to take advantage of this opportunity, but indicates that it has never been successful in stopping a Berners-Lee decision in this way.

The official documentation describes the eme standard, or Encrypted Media Extensions, as an extension of html5 to allow rendering of encrypted content. It wouldn’t be about DRM, but about an API to communicate with those kinds of systems. The specification stems from the “desire of hundreds of millions of people to watch video on the web,” the W3C said. That would only be possible legally if the content is encrypted. For example, the specification should eliminate the use of Flash and Silverlight plug-ins for this purpose.

Work on the specification began in 2013, after Google, Microsoft and Netflix had already presented a first version to the W3C a year earlier. At the time, the organization also ignored the criticism that had arisen.